ClearBridge Investments, an investment management company, released its “ClearBridge Large Cap Value Strategy” third quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The third quarter experienced significant gains for U.S. equities, which recovered from a fear of slowing economic growth that had driven several asset markets into correction territory. A broad rebound was then induced by a 50 basis point interest rate drop by the Federal Reserve. The Russell 1000 Value Index generated a gain of 9.43% for the quarter. Against this backdrop, the ClearBridge Large Cap Value Strategy underperformed the benchmark Russell 1000 Value Index during the quarter. In addition, you can check the fund’s top 5 holdings to determine its best picks for 2024.
ClearBridge Large Cap Value Strategy highlighted stocks like United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS), in the third quarter 2024 investor letter. United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) is a package delivery company, with a market capitalization of $115.295 billion. The one-month return of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) was 4.41%, and its shares lost 14.08% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On October 11, 2024, United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) stock closed at $134.60 per share.
ClearBridge Large Cap Value Strategy stated the following regarding United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:
“Among transports, we maintained our preference for less than truckload (LTL) provider XPO, to which we added during the period. We funded the XPO addition first by trimming and ultimately exiting United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS). While UPS remains a high-quality business run by a competent management team, weak industry volumes, consumers shifting to lower-priced shipping options and industry overcapacity create less than optimal pricing dynamics. In addition, as a union shop, UPS operates in a fiercely competitive industry, while two of its main competitors, FedEx and Amazon.com, operate with a non-union labor force, putting UPS at a cost disadvantage, at least when it comes to labor. UPS’s undemanding valuation notwithstanding, we think a healthier industry structure and better pricing dynamics make XPO a better longer-term investment.”
A warehouse filled with boxes of parcels, symbolizing the companies reliable logistics services.
United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 44 hedge fund portfolios held United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) at the end of the second quarter which was 43 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) 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 United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) and shared the list of blue-chip stocks to buy at 52-week lows. ClearBridge Large Cap Value Strategy trimmed its position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) during Q2 2024. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q3 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.