ClearBridge Investments, an investment management company, released its “ClearBridge Mid Cap Strategy” fourth quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The fourth quarter was turbulent for mid-size stocks, which surged following the election and interest rate reductions before holding steady as the market shifted back to large cap leadership. The strategy outperformed its Russell Midcap Index during the fourth quarter driven by strong stock selection among IT and industrials holdings. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.
In its fourth quarter 2024 investor letter, ClearBridge Mid Cap Strategy emphasized stocks such as International Paper Company (NYSE:IP). International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) produces and sells renewable fiber-based packaging and pulp products. The one-month return of International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) was -2.31%, and its shares gained 57.61% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On February 26, 2025, International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) stock closed at $55.73 per share with a market capitalization of $29.321 billion.
ClearBridge Mid Cap Strategy stated the following regarding International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“We also added International Paper Company (NYSE:IP), a leading paper and packaging company in the materials sector, as we believe it represents a strong turnaround story under the leadership of a new CEO we are familiar with from his time at IDEX. Historically, the company has struggled with manufacturing inefficiencies, but the new CEO has embarked on an ambitious plan to optimize its footprint, adjust pricing dynamics and improve margins within the next few years. Additionally, we believe that a favorable supply/demand balance within the industry for paper and packaging products should help support stronger pricing power moving forward.”
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International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 54 hedge fund portfolios held International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) at the end of the fourth quarter compared to 44 in the third quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is as promising as NVIDIA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
In another article, we discussed International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) and shared the list of cheap new stocks to buy. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q4 2024 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.