Aristotle Small Cap Equity Strategy Initiated a Position in Old National Bancorp (ONB) in Q1

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 Old National Bancorp (NASDAQ:ONB). Old National Bancorp (NASDAQ:ONB) is a bank holding company for Old National Bank. The one-month return of Old National Bancorp (NASDAQ:ONB) was 13.94%, and its shares gained 26.89% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On May 15, 2025, Old National Bancorp (NASDAQ:ONB) stock closed at $22.32 per share with a market capitalization of $8.257 billion.

Aristotle Capital Small Cap Equity Strategy stated the following regarding Old National Bancorp (NASDAQ:ONB) in its Q1 2025 investor letter:

“Old National Bancorp (NASDAQ:ONB), is a regional bank serving clients primarily in the Midwest and Southeastern U.S. We believe the company’s geographic location, strong balance sheet, increased loan growth and repricing of fixed-rate loans to higher rates will benefit NIMs on a go-forward basis.”

Old National Bancorp (NASDAQ:ONB) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 27 hedge fund portfolios held Old National Bancorp (NASDAQ:ONB) at the end of the fourth quarter which was 18 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Old National Bancorp (NASDAQ:ONB) 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.

In another article, we covered Old National Bancorp (NASDAQ:ONB) and shared billionaire George Soros’ small-cap stocks with huge upside potential. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 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.