The London Company, an investment management company, released “The London Company Small Cap Strategy” fourth quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. In the fourth quarter, US equities traded higher, with most indices posting positive returns. The fund appreciated 2.5% (2.3%, net) outperforming the 0.3% increase of the Russell 2000 Index. The positive impact of both stock selection and sector allocation contributed to the relative performance of the strategy in the quarter. For more information on the fund’s top picks in 2024, please check its top five holdings.

In its fourth quarter 2024 investor letter, The London Company Small Cap Strategy emphasized stocks such as Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT). Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) is a real estate investment trust that engages in the acquisition, ownership, and management of single-tenant properties. The one-month return of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) was 0.50%, and its shares gained 32.86% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On February 24, 2025, Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) stock closed at $32.06 per share with a market capitalization of $6.04 billion.

The London Company Small Cap Strategy stated the following regarding Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:

"Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) - EPRT lagged in 4Q as REITs underperformed the market. In our view, this underperformance was driven primarily by interest rates as inflation expectations and the 10-year treasury yield increased. We do not believe underperformance in the quarter was related to company fundamentals. EPRT continues to execute well on sourcing deals, managing credit, and maintaining a conservative balance sheet."

An aerial view of a building leased by the real estate investment trust, promptly paying their federal income taxes.

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 26 hedge fund portfolios held Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) at the end of the fourth quarter compared to 20 in the third quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:EPRT) 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 cheapest AI stock.

In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q4 2024 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.