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Hotchkis & Wiley Funds, an investment management company, released its “Hotchkis & Wiley Large Cap Value Fund” third quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. The S&P 500 Index was up +22.1% since the start of the year and returned +5.9% in the third quarter. The latest update on the Consumer Price Index provided additional proof that the rate of inflation is declining sustainably. In the quarter, large value beat large growth (+9.4% vs. +3.2%), although growth has a significant advantage so far this year (+24.6% vs. +16.7%). In the third quarter of 2024, the Hotchkis & Wiley Large Cap Fundamental Value portfolio underperformed the Russell 1000 Value index (gross and net of management fees). In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.
Hotchkis & Wiley Large Cap Value Fund highlighted stocks like Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL), in the third quarter 2024 investor letter. Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) is a fast-moving consumer goods company that operates through Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care, Home Care, Nutrition, and Ice Cream segments. The one-month return of Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) was -4.24%, and its shares gained 18.23% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On December 24, 2024, Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) stock closed at $57.19 per share with a market capitalization of $141.416 billion.
Hotchkis & Wiley Large Cap Value Fund stated the following regarding Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:
"Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) is one of the world’s leading suppliers of consumer goods in the food, home care, and personal care categories, maintaining #1 or #2 market share over 75% of its business. With a new CEO and the involvement of an activist investor (Trian), Unilever is focused on execution and consistency, expecting low to mid-single digit volume-driven top line growth over the medium term, profit growth ahead of sales growth due to operating leverage and mix, and consistent return of cash to shareholders. Additionally, the company has announced plans to separate the Ice Cream business (13% of 2023 sales), which is expected to be completed by the end of 2025 and increase organic sales growth to 4-6% annually. Over the last quarter, the stock price reached a five-year high, as the company has continued to execute the plans laid out above. Unilever has not yet released their official third quarter results but has reiterated their confidence in achieving 3-5% organic sales growth for the full year, with the majority of this growth being driven by volume."