Alexander & Baldwin (ALEX): An Example of Tru Value That Can be Realized Through Patience

Heartland Advisors, an investment management company, released its “Heartland Value Fund” fourth-quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The Russell 2000® Value Index generated a return of 3.26% in the fourth quarter, outperforming 2.66% gains for the S&P 500. After the year-end surge, small stocks nearly caught up to large caps in 2025, their greatest performance since the pandemic. Due to an increase in the small-cap stock’s earnings, the investors are acknowledging their compelling valuations. The fund gained 2.61% in the quarter, compared to a 3.26% return for the Russell 2000® Value Index. The underperformance in the quarter was attributed to stock selection, mainly in the healthcare sector. In addition, you can check the fund’s top 5 holdings to determine its best picks for 2025.

In its fourth-quarter 2025 investor letter, Heartland Value Fund highlighted stocks such as Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. (NYSE:ALEX). Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. (NYSE:ALEX) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust. The one-month return of Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. (NYSE:ALEX) was -1.10%, and its shares gained 20.73% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On January 12, 2026, Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. (NYSE:ALEX) stock closed at $20.73 per share with a market capitalization of $1.508 billion.

Heartland Value Fund stated the following regarding Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. (NYSE:ALEX) in its fourth quarter 2025 investor letter:

“A good illustration that true value can be realized with patience is Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. (NYSE:ALEX). When we originally initiated a position in this Hawaii-based real estate investment trust in the summer of 2024, we were significantly underweight in our Real Estate exposure, relative to our benchmark. In addition, the sector was the third-largest contributor to our portfolio’s “active risk” at the time. So, we sought to expand our exposure to the sector but were looking to do so in a cautious way.

From a risk/reward standpoint, ALEX looked favorable to most other REITs at the time. We liked how ALEX divested a non-core construction business, making this a pure-play REIT with assets strictly in Hawaii. And we were drawn to historically low industrial vacancies in the State as well as the company’s strong absorption rate relative to its peers…” (Click here to read the full text)

In another article, we covered Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. (NYSE:ALEX) and shared the list of small stocks delivering outsized gains. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q4 2025 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.