What Makes Pinnacle Financial Partners (PNFP) a Long-Term Bet?

Riverwater Partners, an investment management company, released its “Sustainable Value Strategy” Q1 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The strategy outperformed its benchmark, the Russell 2500 Value Index, in the first quarter. The relative outperformance was primarily driven by positive stock selection, while the allocation effect also contributed positively. In addition, you can check the fund’s top 5 holdings to determine its best picks for 2025.

In its first-quarter 2025 investor letter, Riverwater Partners Sustainable Value Strategy highlighted stocks such as Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:PNFP). Headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:PNFP) is a bank holding company for Pinnacle Bank. The one-month return of Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:PNFP) was 3.76%, and its shares gained 39.44% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On June 30, 2025, Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:PNFP) stock closed at $110.41 per share, with a market capitalization of $8.563 billion.

Riverwater Partners Sustainable Value Strategy stated the following regarding Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:PNFP) in its Q1 2025 investor letter:

“We recycled the Carlyle proceeds into Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:PNFP). Pinnacle is a high performing regional bank headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, with a relationship-centric business model focused on commercial and affluent clients across the Southeast.

The firm differentiates itself through a unique talent first strategy, consistently hiring seasoned revenue producers who drive peer-leading loan and deposit growth. PNFP maintains strong asset quality with conservative loan-to-value (LTV) ratios and has proactively repositioned its securities and loan portfolios to optimize for interest rate volatility.

Its strategic investment in Bankers Healthcare Group (BHG) enhances fee income and provides selective opportunities to purchase high-yielding, SBA guaranteed loans. With industry-best Net Promoter Scores (NPS), a culture recognized nationally, and robust capital management, PNFP trades at a discount to historical valuation multiples. It currently trades at book value which presents an attractive opportunity for long-term investors seeking high quality regional bank exposure with scalable earnings power and embedded growth levers.”

An executive in a suit examining a real estate loan contract, reflecting the commitment to financial services.

As per our database, 31 hedge fund portfolios held Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:PNFP) at the end of the first quarter, which was 19 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:PNFP) 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 addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2025 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors. While we acknowledge the potential of PNFP as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you’re looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.