5 Stocks That Caught the Attention of Cliff Asness’ Quant Fund in Q2

#3 FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

– Shares Held by AQR (as of June 30): 9.38 million
– Total Value of Holding (as of June 30): $327.59 million

FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) was a favorite of AQR in the second quarter, as the fund raised its holding in the company by 138% during the March 31-to-June 30 period. Analysts at Morgan Stanley upgraded FirstEnergy to ‘Overweight’ from ‘Equal Weight’ and raised their price target on it to $41 per share from $38 in early-August, citing the stock’s relative under-performance year-to-date and the potential for strategic activity in terms of the company’s generation business. Shares are also attractive due to the company’s $1.44 per share annual dividend, good for a 4.46% dividend yield.

#2 Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE:TSN)

– Shares Held by AQR (as of June 30): 6.89 million
– Total Value of Holding (as of June 30): $460.49 million

AQR raised its holding in Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE:TSN) by 65% during the three month-period ended June 30, as U.S. consumer spending remains strong due to the humming economy. Tyson Foods reported excellent earnings for its third quarter of fiscal 2016, with earnings per share of $1.21 on revenue of $9.4 billion, besting estimates of $1.06 per share and $9.33 billion, respectively. Full-year EPS guidance was also strong, with Tyson Foods’ management guiding for adjusted EPS of $4.40-to-$4.50. David Cohen and Harold Levy‘s Iridian Asset Management owned almost 7.2 million shares of Tyson Foods at the end of June.

#1 Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE:PG)

– Shares Held by AQR (as of June 30): 6.07 million
– Total Value of Holding (as of June 30): $513.86 million

Procter and Gamble has maintained very stable earnings over the years, including $10.51 billion in net income during its 2016 fiscal year, which could be why AQR likes the company. Given its stable earnings and 59-straight years of dividend raises, it’s not surprising that 56 bullish funds in our system held shares of the company at the end of June. Count AQR as one of the bulls, as the fund raised its position in Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE:PG) by 28% during the second quarter, to over 6.00 million shares, just in time to catch a big part of Procter and Gamble’s 13% year-to-date rally.

Disclosure: None