Heartland Advisors, an investment management company, released its first-quarter 2026 investor letter for “Heartland Value Fund”. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. At the beginning of the year, small caps outperformed large caps by a wide margin; however, increasing geopolitical risks in March led investors to favor larger-cap companies perceived as safer. The firm is optimistic about the long-term prospects ahead for small value stocks. The Fund appreciated 7.35% in the first quarter compared with the 4.96% return for the Russell 2000® Value Index. Stock selection contributed to the Fund’s outperformance in the quarter and across the past one, three, and five years. 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 Value Fund highlighted Allegiant Travel Company (NASDAQ:ALGT) as a newly established position. Allegiant Travel Company (NASDAQ:ALGT) is a travel company that provides travel and leisure services and products to residents of under-served cities. On April 15, 2026, Allegiant Travel Company (NASDAQ:ALGT) closed at $88.24 per share. One-month return of Allegiant Travel Company (NASDAQ:ALGT) was 10.94%, and its shares gained 99.05% over the past 52 weeks. Allegiant Travel Company (NASDAQ:ALGT) has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion.
Heartland Value Fund stated the following regarding Allegiant Travel Company (NASDAQ:ALGT) in its Q1 2026 investor letter:
“When identifying companies that fit our process, it is important that management demonstrate the ability to course correct, even if they have hit certain hurdles in the past. Case in point: Allegiant Travel Company (NASDAQ:ALGT). We initiated a position in the ultra low cost airline last year, when the shares were depressed and its story was obscured by a non core hotel project that consumed capital and complicated the narrative.
The airline ultimately sold the hotel asset, took the financial hit, and refocused on the core business—a prime example of management taking its lumps and working to improve capital allocation. The stock subsequently rallied significantly from the lows, driven by this refocus, improved execution, and the carrier’s low cost model…” (Click here to read the full text)
Allegiant Travel Company (NASDAQ:ALGT) is not on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026. According to our database, 24 hedge fund portfolios held Allegiant Travel Company (NASDAQ:ALGT) at the end of the fourth quarter, up from 22 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of Allegiant Travel Company (NASDAQ:ALGT) 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 Allegiant Travel Company (NASDAQ:ALGT) and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
In another article, we covered Allegiant Travel Company (NASDAQ:ALGT) and shared the list of most promising stocks under $100 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.
