ClearBridge Investments, a global equity manager, recently published first-quarter 2026 commentary for its “Clearbridge Dividend Strategy”. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The market has witnessed two significant developments over the past three months: the war in Iran and the growing displacements of software engineers and the software industry. Amid this context, the strategy outperformed the S&P 500 Index, which dropped by 4.3%. This outperformance was attributed to a strategic underweight in information technology, which fell by 9.2% during the quarter, and an overweight in energy, which rose by 38.2%. The strategy focused on investing in high-quality industrial companies and alternative asset managers, while also sharpening energy investments on its top convictions. The firm anticipates that a slowdown in the global economy, driven by higher inflation and interest rates, will pose challenges to the market in 2026. The strategy continues to pursue broader diversification while navigating the challenges of war and AI disruption. In addition, please check the Strategy’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2026.
In its first-quarter 2026 investor letter, Clearbridge Dividend Strategy highlighted stocks like EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT). EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) is a leading natural gas producer headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. On April 7, 2026, EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) stock closed at $60.69 per share. EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) delivered a -4.92% return in the past month, and its shares gained 20.97% over the past twelve months. EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) has a market capitalization of $37.89 billion.
Clearbridge Dividend Strategy stated the following regarding EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) in its Q1 2026 investor letter:
“While we maintain a large overweight to energy, we have taken advantage of rising stock prices to exit two of our holdings, EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) and Enbridge. EQT always represented more of a tactical investment in an improving U.S. natural gas market, rather than a long-term investment in a franchise energy company. We made substantial profits in EQT over a four-year holding period and have decided to move on.”
EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) is not on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026. According to our database, 92 hedge fund portfolios held EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) at the end of the fourth quarter, up from 82 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) 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 EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
In another article, we covered EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) and shared the list of most profitable NYSE stocks to invest in. 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.
