Riverwater Partners, an investment management company, released its “Sustainable Value Strategy” Q1 2026 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. In Q1 2026, the Riverwater Sustainable Value Strategy underperformed the Russell 2500 Value Index. The underperformance was driven entirely by stock selection, while sector allocation contributed positively. The quarter demonstrated a strong small-cap market with an 11.1% return until February, but later the strategy lagged by over 5%, following geopolitical events. Despite this, relative performance improved, indicating strong downside protection. Looking ahead, the firm anticipates a shift back to fundamentals expected to favor high-quality small-cap stocks over lower-quality peers and large-cap equities. In addition, please check the Strategy’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2026.
In its first-quarter 2026 investor letter, Riverwater Sustainable Value Strategy highlighted stocks like Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX). Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) is a global producer of primary aluminum and alumina. On April 21, 2026, Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) closed at $61.40 per share. One-month return of Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) was 22.34%, and its shares gained 263.96% over the past 52 weeks. Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) has a market capitalization of $6.08 billion.
Riverwater Sustainable Value Strategy stated the following regarding Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) in its Q1 2026 investor letter:
“Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) is the largest domestic producer of primary aluminum in the United States, operating smelters in Kentucky, South Carolina, and Iceland with combined annual production capacity of approximately 770,000 tonnes. Glencore plc is the largest shareholder at approximately 30% beneficial ownership¹ and also the company’s largest customer (54% of 2025 sales).
The U.S. went from producing 4.65 million tonnes of primary aluminum at 33 smelters in 1980 to approximately 670,000 tonnes at just 4 operating smelters today — a collapse from 33% of global output to under 1%.³ The country now relies on imports for roughly 60% of its aluminum consumption.⁴ Section 232 tariffs (currently 50% on imports) create a meaningful domestic price premium for U.S. producers. LME aluminum prices have risen above $3,300/ton⁵ on tightening global supply, with Chinese production capped at 45 million tonnes and Gulf smelter capacity at risk from geopolitical disruption in the Strait of Hormuz — a dynamic we have termed the “Fog of Excursion” thesis…” (Click here to read the full text)
Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) is not on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026. According to our database, 46 hedge fund portfolios held Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) at the end of the fourth quarter, up from 36 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) 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 Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
In another article, we covered Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) and shared the list of best performing blue chip 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.
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