Aristotle Capital Boston, LLC, an investment advisor, released its “Small Cap Equity Strategy” first quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The volatility observed in 2024 continued into the first quarter of 2025. The Russell 2000 Index experienced volatility in Q1 2025, losing -9.48% after a strong 2024. Due to uncertainty, geopolitical tensions, and a longer rate environment, February and March were challenging. In the first quarter, the strategy delivered a return of -7.34% net of fees (-7.20% gross of fees), outperforming the Russell 2000 Index’s -9.48% total return. For more information on the fund’s best picks in 2025, please check its top five holdings.
In its first-quarter 2025 investor letter, Aristotle Capital Small Cap Equity Strategy highlighted stocks such as Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV). Headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky, Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) is a retail automotive services company. The one-month return of Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) was 2.21%, and its shares lost 18.08% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On May 15, 2025, Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) stock closed at $34.22 per share with a market capitalization of $4.35 billion.
Aristotle Capital Small Cap Equity Strategy stated the following regarding Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) in its Q1 2025 investor letter:
“Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV), is a pure-play auto quick lube and maintenance service provider with over 2,000 locations in the U.S. and Canada. The company provides quick and convenient stay-in-your-car automotive preventative maintenance through its full-service oil changes from skilled technicians in less than 15minutes. We believe the company will benefit from increased market share gains, driven by both corporate and franchise expansion, growing its scale, accelerating growth and increasing its moat.”
A close-up of a metal oil pump in an oil refinery, a key part of the company’s production.
Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 36 hedge fund portfolios held Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) at the end of the fourth quarter which was 35 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) 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 undervalued AI stock set for massive gains.
