Pzena Investment Management recently released its first-quarter 2026 commentary for “Pzena Focused Value Strategy.” A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The equity market faced challenges in the first quarter due to the Iran conflict and the related energy price hike, compounded by continued AI-related uncertainty. Despite this volatility, energy stocks led the value index higher, but the portfolio fell short of the index and returned -4.7% (net) vs. 2.1% for the Russell 1000 Value Index. Despite the uncertainty, the firm believes that the current environment presents a strong long-term opportunity. In addition, you can check the Fund’s top five holdings to see its best picks for 2026.
In its first-quarter 2026 investor letter, Pzena Focused Value Strategy highlighted stocks like Dow Inc. (NYSE:DOW). Dow Inc. (NYSE:DOW) is an American company focuses on various materials science solutions for packaging, infrastructure, mobility, and consumer applications. On June 22, 2026, Dow Inc. (NYSE:DOW) closed at $30.79 per share. One-month return of Dow Inc. (NYSE:DOW) was -12.73%, and its shares gained 11.84% over the past 52 weeks. Dow Inc. (NYSE:DOW) has a market capitalization of $22.19 billion.
Pzena Focused Value Strategy stated the following regarding Dow Inc. (NYSE:DOW) in its Q1 2026 investor letter:
“The industrials and energy sectors contributed positively to performance in the quarter. Commodity chemicals producer Dow Inc. (NYSE:DOW) rallied as oil prices spiked, which is expected to tighten global polyethylene markets and benefit Dow due to its cost-advantaged footprint in North America.”
Dow Inc. (NYSE:DOW) is not on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026. According to our database, 59 hedge fund portfolios held Dow Inc. (NYSE:DOW) at the end of the first quarter, up from 49 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of Dow Inc. (NYSE:DOW) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than Dow Inc. (NYSE:DOW) and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
In another article, we covered Dow Inc. (NYSE:DOW) and shared the list of top high dividend stocks to invest in according to analysts. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2026 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.
