Hotchkis & Wiley Mid‑Cap Value Fund Beats Benchmark in Q3, Spotlights WPP Turnaround and Centene Value Case

Overview

• The fund returned 7.74% in the third quarter of 2025, outpacing the Russell Midcap Value Index’s 6.18% gain.
• WPP’s shares declined after lower‑than‑expected revenue growth and disappointing Q2 results, and the firm highlights a new CEO with digital and AI credentials as key to turnaround plans.
• Hotchkis & Wiley views WPP as trading at a low earnings multiple with a solid balance sheet, supporting a potential path to near mid‑teens returns through capital return and capital‑light growth.
• Centene fell on a worse‑than‑expected quarter, yet the fund sees value at roughly 4.8x normalized earnings given its scale of about 28 million at‑risk enrollees and a Medicaid market projected by CMS to grow 6% annually from 2020 to 2027.
• Hedge fund ownership rose into quarter‑end, with WPP held by 11 funds (up from 8) and Centene by 72 (up from 59), while as of December 9 WPP closed at $21.16 (down 62.46% over 52 weeks) and Centene at $38.08 (down 33.08%).