Sanchez Energy Corp (SN), Swift Transportation Co (SWFT): Odey Asset Management Discloses Its Latest Moves

Crispin Odey’s Odey Asset Management shed its entire stake in Sanchez Energy Corp (NYSE:SN), which amounted to 2.2 million shares. In addition, the hedge fund increased its exposure to Swift Transportation Co (NYSE:SWFT) by 490,400 shares. According to the 13G Form filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr. Odey’s firm now owns 1.9 million Class A Common Shares, representing 2.15% of the company’s outstanding stock.

Odey Asset Management is a London-based hedge fund that was founded in 1991. The firm is currently managed by founder Crispin Odey and has around $6.2 billion in assets under management. The company focuses on performance, thus laying greater value on generating returns than on gathering assets. Furthermore, it boasts a diversified equity portfolio, which is valued at around $2.8 billion as of the third quarter. According to its latest 13F disclosure, Odey Asset Management’s top picks for 2014 included Signet Jewelers Ltd. (NYSE:SIG), D.R. Horton, Inc (NYSE:DHI), and Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL). These three equities accounted for almost 24% of the hedge fund’s equity portfolio.

Although the European hedge fund is having a very tough fiscal 2015, with returns dropping by more than 10% due to significant losses in October, the trend is slowly being reversed. As we reported a few days ago, Odey Asset Management profited heavily from its short position against The Swatch Group SA, which plummeted by around 20% since January 15.

The sale of all its holdings in Sanchez Energy Corp (NYSE:SN) was disclosed in a 13G Form filed on Tuesday, yet the transaction actually took place at the end of last year. Although several of the hedge fund’s positions suffered changes, this stock was the only one to be slashed all together. This was not an unreasonable move, considering the company is currently suffering the effects of the drop in crude oil prices. In fact, the oil producer recently announced it would be cutting its capital budget for 2015 by a whopping 60%. Hence, whereas Sanchez Energy intended to spend around $1.15 billion on drilling and new wells, the new budget stipulates expenditures of $600 million to $650 million.