Hotchkis & Wiley, an investment management company, released its “Hotchkis & Wiley Mid-Cap Value Fund” first quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The Hotchkis & Wiley Mid-Cap Value Fund returned -5.63% in the first quarter, underperforming the Russell Midcap Value Index’s -2.11% return. US mid-cap stocks surged post-Presidential elections due to potential benefits of deregulation, lower corporate taxes, and accelerated growth. However, Q1 2025 saw a decline due to tariffs, high inflation, and weak macroeconomic factors, causing the Russell Midcap Index to decline by -3.4% and the Russell Midcap Value Index by -2.1% vs. a decline of -7.1% for the Russell Midcap Growth Index. For more information on the fund’s best picks in 2025, please check its top five holdings.
In its first-quarter 2025 investor letter, Hotchkis & Wiley Mid-Cap Value Fund highlighted stocks such as Adient plc (NYSE:ADNT). Adient plc (NYSE:ADNT) is a manufacturer of seating systems and components. The one-month return of Adient plc (NYSE:ADNT) was 37.68%, and its shares lost 45.18% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On May 16, 2025, Adient plc (NYSE:ADNT) stock closed at $15.82 per share with a market capitalization of $1.329 billion.
Hotchkis & Wiley Mid-Cap Value Fund stated the following regarding Adient plc (NYSE:ADNT) in its Q1 2025 investor letter:
“Adient plc (NYSE:ADNT), domiciled in England (with corporate offices in Plymouth, MI; Milwaukee, WI; Burscheid, Germany; and Shanghai, China), is one the world’s largest suppliers of seating systems and a leading components supplier for automotive interiors. Shares fell over the period alongside other names in the auto manufacturing space due to the potential of heightened tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico. This is specifically problematic for ADNT given their sizeable manufacturing presence in Mexico. However, we believe issues from tariffs will be transient in nature. As such, we continue to believe ADNT is attractively valued for a company successfully right sizing their portfolio, buying back shares, and maintaining their balance sheet.”
A carpenter assembling an automotive seating system, using components, frames and mechanisms.
Adient plc (NYSE:ADNT) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 25 hedge fund portfolios held Adient plc (NYSE:ADNT) at the end of the fourth quarter, compared to 17 in the third quarter. In the fiscal second quarter of 2025, Adient plc (NYSE:ADNT) reported consolidated net sales of approximately $3.6 billion a decrease of $139 million compared to prior year’s comparable quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Adient plc (NYSE:ADNT) 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.
