Aristotle Capital Boston, LLC, an investment advisor, released its fourth-quarter investor letter for “Small Cap Equity Fund”. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. U.S. small-cap equities reported modest gains in the fourth quarter of 2025. The quarter started as a continuation of the post-Liberation Day risk-on market environment, while it ended on a strong note, driven by a positive macroeconomic backdrop. Attractive valuations, earnings recovery, broadening of the market, and a shift from mega-cap stocks supported small caps in the quarter. The Aristotle Small Cap Equity Fund (Class I-2) returned 1.96% in Q4 2025, trailing the 2.19% total return of the Russell 2000 Index. Security selection supported overall performance, while allocation effects detracted from performance. Please review the Strategy’s top five holdings to gain insights into their key selections for 2025.
In its fourth-quarter 2025 investor letter, Aristotle Small Cap Equity Fund highlighted WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) as a recent addition to its portfolio. WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) is a bank holding company for WesBanco Bank, Inc. On February 13, 2026, WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) stock closed at $36.65 per share. One-month return of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) was 6.60%, and its shares are up 0.60% over the past twelve months. WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) has a market capitalization of $3.521 billion.
Aristotle Small Cap Equity Fund stated the following regarding WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) in its fourth quarter 2025 investor letter:
“WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) is a West Virginia-based bank holding company serving West Virginia, Ohio, Western Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Southern Indiana and Maryland, and that provides financial services to regional community banks. The company’s regional strength in the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest markets is bolstered by a stable financial base, deep local roots, and a diversified product mix spanning personal, commercial, and institutional services. We believe the company is well positioned to capitalize on trust and deposit opportunities, ramp up small business and middle market commercial & industrial (C&I) growth, add high-quality lenders by leveraging their cheap deposit base to expand into new markets, and remain engaged in potential M&A opportunities which should drive capital appreciation for shareholders.”
WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. According to our database, 25 hedge fund portfolios held WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) at the end of the third quarter, up from 22 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) 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.
