The largest position, occupying 11.36% of it, at the end of Q4 2018, was in Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPR). After the fund had lowered its stake in it by 14%, the position was worth $334.91 million, on the account of 4.65 million shares. Spirit AeroSystems Holdings is the biggest first-tier aerostructures manufacturer in the world with a market cap of $10.31 billion. This Wichita-based company is known for manufacturing a few important parts of Boenig aircraft. Over the last six months, the company’s stock gained 14.32%, and on February 26th it had a closing price of $97.26. It is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.20. For the full 2018, the company reported revenue of $7.2 billion, which represents an increase of 3% on a year to year basis, and adjusted earnings per share of $6.26, up by 17% from 2017. When it comes to the fourth quarter of 2018, Spirit AeroSystems Holdings had revenue of $1.8 billion, which is 7% higher than in the same quarter of 2017, and adjusted earnings per share of $1.85, up by 40% from the fourth quarter in 2017. In the same financial report, the company also announced the full year 2019 guidance claiming revenue of $8.0-$8.2 billion, and adjusted EPS of $7.35-$7.60, when not counting the effect of the potential Asco acquisition. At the beginning of February, Sanford C. Bernstein restated its ‘Outperform’ rating on Spirit AeroSystems Holdings’ stock, raising its price target to $112.00 from $102.00, while Credit Suisse Group also repeated ‘Outperform’ rating on the stock, boosting its price target to $103.00 from $96.00.
The second and the third largest stake in Scopia Capital’s portfolio at the end of the fourth quarter of 2018 were those in Vistra Energy Corp (NYSE:VST), and Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI). In Texas-based energy company with a market cap of $13.19 billion, Vistra Energy, the fund held $306.12 million worth a position, on the account of 13.37 million shares. And, in Itron, a technology company that provides various services and products for water and energy resource management, the fund held a stake that counted 5.09 million shares with a value of $240.54 million. Itron has a market cap of $2.43 billion, and it is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.64.
Equitrans Midstream Corp (NYSE:ETRN) was the fund’s biggest new addition to its portfolio, during the fourth quarter of 2018. Scopia Capital acquired 7.09 million Equitrans Midstream’s shares, in that manner, establishing a position that was worth $141.88 million, amassing 4.81% of the fund’s equity portfolio. This is one of the biggest natural gas gatherers and transmission pipeline operators in the US, with a market cap of $4.68 billion. It is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.4, and on February 26th, it had a closing price of $18.49. The other two largest new positions the fund obtained in already mentioned NXP Semiconductors NV (NASDAQ:NXPI) and Qorvo Inc (NASDAQ:QRVO). Its position in Qorvo included 2.11 million shares outstanding, with a value of $128.32 million.
Out of 14 stakes Scopia Capital decided to drop during Q4 2018, the biggest ones were in ARRIS International plc (NASDAQ:ARRS), Mallinckrodt PLC (NYSE:MNK), and EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT). The fund sold out 9 million ARRIS’ shares, with a value of $233.91 million, and 4.72 million shares of Mallinckrodt, which were worth $138.48 million. As for its position in EQT Corporation, it counted 2.37 million shares, which carried a value of $104.99 million.
Disclosure: None
This article was originally published at Insider Monkey.
