Aristotle Capital Management, LLC, an investment management company, released its “Value Equity Strategy” third quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The U.S. share market reached record highs in the quarter, with the S&P 500 Index rising 5.89%. The market showed wider gains, unlike the previous quarter, with the S&P 500 Equal Weight Index beating the cap-weighted S&P 500 Index by 3.71%. The composite returned 6.47% gross of fees (6.39% net of fees) in the third quarter underperforming the 9.43% return of the Russell 1000 Value Index and outperforming the 5.89% return of the S&P 500 Index. Security selection led the composite to underperform in the quarter relative to the Russell 1000 Value Index, while allocation had a slight negative impact. In addition, you can check the fund’s top 5 holdings to determine its best picks for 2024.
Aristotle Capital Value Equity Strategy highlighted stocks like Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), in the third quarter 2024 investor letter. Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) is a telecommunication company that offers communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental entities. The one-month return of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) was -4.44%, and its shares gained 37.60% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On October 11, 2024, Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) stock closed at $43.00 per share with a market capitalization of $181.009 billion.
Aristotle Capital Value Equity Strategy stated the following regarding Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:
“Headquartered in New York, Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) is one of the largest telecommunications companies in the U.S. The company was formed in 2000 with the combination of Bell Atlantic Corp. and GTE Corp., businesses with roots dating back to the late 19th century and the beginning of the telephone business.
Over the years, Verizon has expanded through strategic acquisitions and innovations, particularly in wireless technology, which has become the cornerstone of its business. Unlike its competitor AT&T’s strategy of vertical integration through the acquisition of media and entertainment companies, which AT&T is now unwinding, Verizon has instead focused on expanding its fiber networks in major cities and acquiring wireless spectrum to increase network capacity and performance. Today, Verizon’s wireless services account for approximately 70% of its revenue (serving over 90 million postpaid and 20 million prepaid phone customers), making it the country’s largest wireless carrier. Verizon also offers fixed-line operations with local networks in the Northeastern U.S., serving over 30 million homes and businesses and nine million broadband customers. In early September, Verizon announced the $20 billion all-cash acquisition of Frontier, the largest pure-play fiber internet provider in the U.S. Upon closing (expected within 18 months), Verizon’s fiber network will expand to 31 states…” (Click here to read the full text)
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Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 67 hedge fund portfolios held Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) at the end of the second quarter which was 67 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) 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 Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) and shared the list of best stocks under $50 to invest in. 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.