Billionaire Israel Englander’s Top Picks Dominated By These Utilities Stocks

#3. Xcel Energy Inc (NYSE:XEL)

– Shares Held by Millennium Management (as of June 30): 6.58 million

– Value of Millennium Management’s Stake (as of June 30): $295.02 million

Mr. Englander’s fund increased the size of its position in Xcel Energy Inc (NYSE:XEL) by 142% over the second quarter, which left it as the largest shareholder of the stock as of June 30 among the investment firms that we track, 14 of which were long the stock. Also noteworthy was the new position initiated by Matthew Tewksbury’s Stevens Capital Management in the second quarter, which contained 49,164 shares at the end of June.

Shares of Xcel Energy Inc (NYSE:XEL) gained more than 24% over the first-half of the year, but have lost 3.4% so far in the second-half, partly driven by the company’s second quarter results, as EPS of $0.39 missed expectations by $0.01 and revenue of $2.5 billion fell $30 million short of estimates. A few weeks ago, the company declared a $0.34 per share quarterly dividend, which was unchanged from the previous payout. While this helped the stock briefly, it began declining again a couple of days after the announcement.

#2. PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG)

– Shares Held by Millennium Management (as of June 30): 4.8 million

– Value of Millennium Management’s Stake (as of June 30): $307.31 million

PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG) maintained its place as the third-most valuable holding in Millennium’s equity portfolio as of June 30, despite the position having been reduced by 10% in the second quarter. The group of 26 funds among those we track long the stock also included Dmitry Balyasny’s Balyasny Asset Management, which held more than 1.11 million shares of the company on June 30, after increasing its stake by 83% over the quarter.

PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG) has gained more than 18% year-to-date, even though it has been relatively flat over the third quarter. In the past few weeks, shares slipped on news that company had been found guilty of safety violations in the 2010 San Bruno, California, gas pipeline explosion that killed eight people. However, the news that hurt the stock the most was the August 16 announcement of a public offering of 4.9 million common shares priced at $63.25 per share.

#1. American Electric Power Company Inc (NYSE:AEP)

– Shares Held by Millennium Management (as of June 30): 5.39 million

– Value of Millennium Management’s Stake (as of June 30): $378.38 million

American Electric Power Company Inc (NYSE:AEP) was not only Englander’s favorite utilities stock, but also his most valuable equity holding as of June 30, outranked only by a $2 billion put options hedge against the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY). Ken Griffin’s Citadel Advisors was bullish on the company as well, disclosing ownership of 380,527 shares of it as of June 30.

American Electric Power Company Inc (NYSE:AEP) was quite volatile over the second quarter, staging a rebound in June after an early-quarter fall. Since the period ended, however, the stock has lost almost 4%, driven by poor second quarter revenue, which came in at $3.9 billion, $110 million below the Street’s consensus. EPS of $0.95, $0.05 above estimates, was not enough to counterbalance the sales miss. American Electric Power trades at almost 19-times its TTM earnings, at a premium to its peers, but offers a robust revenue growth story and a 3.39% annual dividend yield.

Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no interest in any of the securities or entities mentioned in this article.