Heartland Advisors, an investment management company, released its first-quarter 2026 investor letter for “Heartland Mid Cap Value Fund”. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. Mid-cap stocks experienced initial gains due to improved market breadth; however, increasing geopolitical risks led investors to favor larger-cap companies perceived as safer. The firm remains committed to a valuation-driven strategy to navigate short-term risks while seeking long-term opportunities. The fund returned 4.09% in the quarter, outpacing the Russell Midcap® Value Index’s 3.68% return. Stock selection drove the outperformance, with notable contributions from Financials, Consumer Discretionary, and Information Technology. In addition, you can check the Fund’s top 5 holdings to determine its best picks for 2026.
In its first-quarter 2026 investor letter, Heartland Mid Cap Value Fund highlighted stocks like EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG). EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) is a US-based oil and natural gas exploration and production company that offers crude oil and condensate, gathering, processing, and marketing. On April 14, 2026, EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) closed at $133.59 per share. One-month return of EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) was -2.86%, and its shares gained 23.42% over the past 52 weeks. EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) has a market capitalization of $71.67 billion.
Heartland Mid Cap Value Fund stated the following regarding EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) in its Q1 2026 investor letter:
“Energy. One of our top contributors in the quarter was EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG), a Quality Value oil and gas producer. EOG is a low-cost, high-return operator in a tough business. Before the Iran conflict escalated, EOG shares rose after the company disclosed additional details that quelled concerns regarding well productivity in its Permian Basin footprint and provided evidence of ample remaining low-cost inventory. Meanwhile, EOG continues to reach new milestones in its portfolio of attractive domestic and international growth assets. This is all happening while the company is aggressively returning cash to shareholders via dividends and share repurchases.
Geopolitical factors have certainly helped turbocharge EOG shares recently, along with the broader oil and gas industry. However, compared to other upstream energy producers, we are most intrigued by the company’s elite track record in exploration and development combined with tangible evidence that it is repeating a similar playbook to what built the company into a premier operator. Even after the recent run, shares trade at just 6x EV/EBITDA.”
EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) 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 EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) at the end of the fourth quarter, up from 61 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) 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 EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
In another article, we covered EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) and shared the list of most profitable S&P 500 stocks to buy. 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.
