SCANA Corporation (SCG): Are Hedge Funds Right About This Stock?

SCANA Corporation (NYSE:SCG) was in 12 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of March. SCG has experienced an increase in hedge fund sentiment recently. There were 10 hedge funds in our database with SCG holdings at the end of the previous quarter.

To the average investor, there are tons of gauges investors can use to analyze Mr. Market. A couple of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the elite money managers can outpace their index-focused peers by a healthy amount (see just how much).

Just as integral, optimistic insider trading sentiment is another way to parse down the financial markets. Obviously, there are lots of reasons for an upper level exec to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would behave bullishly. Many empirical studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this tactic if investors understand what to do (learn more here).

With these “truths” under our belt, it’s important to take a peek at the recent action regarding SCANA Corporation (NYSE:SCG).

What have hedge funds been doing with SCANA Corporation (NYSE:SCG)?

In preparation for this quarter, a total of 12 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 20% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ sentiment swirling, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings substantially.

When looking at the hedgies we track, David Harding’s Winton Capital Management had the largest position in SCANA Corporation (NYSE:SCG), worth close to $35.1 million, comprising 0.6% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Ken Griffin of Citadel Investment Group, with a $13.3 million position; less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Some other hedge funds that are bullish include Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management, D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw and Israel Englander’s Millennium Management.

Now, specific money managers have jumped into SCANA Corporation (NYSE:SCG) headfirst. HBK Investments, managed by David Costen Haley, initiated the biggest position in SCANA Corporation (NYSE:SCG). HBK Investments had 1.1 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Glenn Russell Dubin’s Highbridge Capital Management also initiated a $0.8 million position during the quarter.

What do corporate executives and insiders think about SCANA Corporation (NYSE:SCG)?

Insider purchases made by high-level executives is at its handiest when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the last six-month time frame, SCANA Corporation (NYSE:SCG) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also take a look at hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to SCANA Corporation (NYSE:SCG). These stocks are Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. (NYSE:BIP), Alliant Energy Corporation (NYSE:LNT), CMS Energy Corporation (NYSE:CMS), Pinnacle West Capital Corporation (NYSE:PNW), and OGE Energy Corp. (NYSE:OGE). This group of stocks belong to the electric utilities industry and their market caps are similar to SCG’s market cap.

With the results exhibited by Insider Monkey’s studies, everyday investors must always watch hedge fund and insider trading activity, and SCANA Corporation (NYSE:SCG) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.

Click here to learn why you should track hedge funds