Soumya Eswaran
3 min read
River Road Asset Management, an investment management company, released its “River Road Small Cap Value Fund” Q1 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. In the first quarter, AMG River Road Small Cap Value Fund (Class N) returned -3.94% compared to -7.74% returns for the Russell 2000 Value Index. The fund returned 1.30% for the one year ended March 31, 2025, compared to the index return of -3.12%. Stocks declined in the first quarter due to diminishing growth expectations and uncertainty surrounding trade policies, which crumbled the post-election increase in business, consumer, and investor confidence. The remaining gains were subsequently erased following “Liberation Day.” For more information on the fund’s best picks in 2025, please check its top five holdings.
In its first-quarter 2025 investor letter, River Road Small Cap Value Fund highlighted stocks such as Atkore Inc. (NYSE:ATKR). Atkore Inc. (NYSE:ATKR) manufactures and distributes electrical, mechanical, safety, and infrastructure products and solutions. The one-month return of Atkore Inc. (NYSE:ATKR) was 5.71%, and its shares lost 47.19% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On June 25, 2025, Atkore Inc. (NYSE:ATKR) stock closed at $69.99 per share, with a market capitalization of $2.355 billion.
River Road Small Cap Value Fund stated the following regarding Atkore Inc. (NYSE:ATKR) in its Q1 2025 investor letter:
"Another bottom contributor during the quarter was Atkore Inc. (NYSE:ATKR), a branded manufacturer of products that protect and frame electric circuitry (including PVC conduit). ATKR had a difficult 2024, as steel conduit imports rose sharply, the ramp up of production at ATKR’s new solar torque facility took longer than expected, the slow roll-out of $65B from the Beads Act resulted in less-than-expected demand for HDPE, and new supply of PVC conduit lowered pricing."
A technician on a ladder inspecting the electrical components of an industrial building.
Atkore Inc. (NYSE:ATKR) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 26 hedge fund portfolios held Atkore Inc. (NYSE:ATKR) at the end of the first quarter, which was 32 in the previous quarter. Atkore Inc. (NYSE:ATKR) reported net sales of $702 million in fiscal second quarter of 2025. While we acknowledge the potential of Atkore Inc. (NYSE:ATKR) 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.
