Energy Stocks Dominating Billionaire Izzy Englander’s Top Holdings: NextEra Energy Inc (NEE), Noble Energy, Inc. (NBL), Devon Energy Corp (DVN)

Israel Englander’s Millennium Management disclosed its holdings in US-traded equities for the reporting period of March 31 with the SEC. The fund manager disclosed an equity portfolio valued at $53.74 billion as of the reporting period, with finance, energy, health care, and consumer discretionary being among the primary investment sectors of the billionaire money manager. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (ADR) (NYSE:TEVA), NextEra Energy Inc (NYSE:NEE) and American Electric Power Company Inc (NYSE:AEP) are among the top stocks in Englander’s equity portfolio, which is dominated by energy stocks, with four out of the top five stock investments being in energy stocks and Englander making additional purchases for each of those stocks during the first quarter.

MILLENNIUM MANAGEMENT

Izzy Englander is just one of more than 700 investors we track in our database, whose equity portfolios we collate quarterly as part of our small-cap strategy. Even though most smaller investors believe that tracking 13F filings is essentially a waste of time because of the filing delay of up to a maximum of 45 days after the end of a calendar quarter, the results of our research prove otherwise. To be on the safe side, we used a delay of 60 days in our backtests that involved the 13F filings of funds between 1999 and 2012 and we still managed to gain an annual alpha in the double digits. Moreover, since the official launch of our small-cap strategy in August 2012, it has obtained returns of more than 139%, beating the S&P 500 Total Return Index by 80 percentage points (see the details).

Millennium Management’s latest filing disclosed ownership of 8.99 million shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (ADR) (NYSE:TEVA), with a market value of $560.13 million. The investment manager has also enhanced his stake in the Israel-based pharmaceutical company, the only non-energy stock in his top five long positions. The pharmaceutical company is attempting to acquire Mylan NV (NASDAQ:MYL) for $40.1 billion, although the latter has rejected the bid, calling it against the best interests of shareholders. Mylan for its part has its own acquisition plans, for Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO), under similar conditions. Perrigo has rejected its initial offer of $75 cash along with 2.3 shares of Mylan for every share of Perrigo, a deal which Perrigo values at $202, claiming Mylan’s shares are currently oversold, while the current value of the deal would be $236 per share of Perrigo. Zach Schreiber’s Point State Capital is another investment manager that holds a large stake in Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (ADR) (NYSE:TEVA) with 10.31 million shares at a market value of $642.31 million.

With 4.38 million shares valued at $455.64 million, NextEra Energy Inc (NYSE:NEE) is the largest energy pick of Englander, representing 0.84% of his portfolio. The energy company released better-than-expected earnings results for the first quarter of 2015 with earnings per share of $1.45 against market estimates of $1.28.  Shares of the energy company are trading 8.99% lower than its 52-week high of $112.64. NextEra Energy Inc (NYSE:NEE) announced the acquisition of Hawaiian Electric Co last year and the deal is likely to close by the end of 2015. According to the management of the Hawaii-based electric company, more than 90% of the shareholders voted in favor of the $4.3 billion acquisition deal from NextEra Energy. Daniel S. Och’s OZ Management is the largest shareholder of NextEra Energy Inc (NYSE:NEE) after Millennium Management with 2.69 million shares valued at $279.77 million.

American Electric Power Company Inc (NYSE:AEP) represents the third-largest long position of Englander, with the position totaling 7.53 million shares valued at $423.75 million. Englander’s stake in the utility holding company, which has a current market cap of $27.30 billion and a P/E ratio of 16.02, was increased by 203% during the first quarter. American Electric Power Company Inc (NYSE:AEP) reported its first quarter financial results on April 23, posting revenue of $4.7 billion and GAAP earnings of $629 million as compared to year-over-year revenue of $4.6 billion and GAAP earnings of $560 million. The electric company outperformed the market’s estimate earnings of $1.11 by 15.32%. AQR Capital Management, lead by Cliff Asness, is another investment manager holding a sizable investment in American Electric Power Company Inc (NYSE:AEP).

Israel Englander increased his stake in Noble Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NBL) by 326% to 7.67 million shares of the energy company, valued at $375.17 million. Noble Energy was one of the first companies to initiate the acquisition frenzy in the oil industry this year. The offshore E&P company will acquire Rosetta Resources Inc. (NASDAQ:ROSE), with the acquisition providing Noble Energy, Inc. with a strong position in two shale plays: the Eagle Ford and the Permian. More than 15 analysts have rated Noble Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NBL) with a “Buy” rating, with an average target price of $59.20, which indicates 33.48% upside for the stock. Boykin Curry’s Eagle Capital Management is the leading stockholder of Noble Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NBL with 17.12 million shares valued at $837.30 million.

After a 43% increase in its stake during the first quarter, Englander’s Devon Energy Corp (NYSE:DVN) holding ranks number five in its top long holdings, standing at 5.53 million shares valued at $334.00 million. Imperial Capital initiated coverage of Devon Energy Corp (NYSE:DVN) with an “Outperform” rating and target price of $92, indicating 38% upside potential for the stock. As many as 15 analysts rated it a “Buy”, with an average price target of $73.94, which suggests a potential upside of 10.67% from its current trading levels.

Disclosure: None