Here are Ariel Appreciation Fund's Updates on its New Addition Schlumberger NV (SLB)

Ariel Investments, an investment management company, released its “Ariel Appreciation Fund” first-quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. In the first quarter, investors fled to shelter as hopes for another year of U.S. outperformance, driven by economic momentum and the new administration's pro-business approach swiftly gave way to tariff fears and policy uncertainty, causing most of the major U.S. indices to close the quarter in the red. Against this backdrop, the fund returned -6.94% in the first quarter underperforming the Russell Midcap Value Index’s -2.11% returns, and the Russell Midcap Index’s -3.40% returns. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2025.

In its first-quarter 2025 investor letter, Ariel Appreciation Fund highlighted stocks such as Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB). Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) is an oil field services company. The one-month return of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) was -18.12%, and its shares lost 30.13% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On April 21, 2025, Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) stock closed at $34.62 per share with a market capitalization of 47.744 billion.

Ariel Appreciation Fund stated the following regarding Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) in its Q1 2025 investor letter:

"Additionally, we purchased Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB), the largest oilfield services company in the world by revenue. SLB provides equipment, services and digital tools to help oil and gas producers operate more efficiently, including reservoir characterization, rig and well construction and production enhancement. We believe the company’s scale and technical expertise are key differentiators. Weak near-term demand, an oil glut, falling commodity prices and concerns about future spending amid a global shift to renewable energies presented an attractive entry point. We believe there are tailwinds supporting rising demand over the medium-term, as national oil companies invest in long-cycle projects to grow capacity and address the natural decline of production. Additionally, we expect SLB will continue to evolve their capabilities to help clients with rising energy needs going forward."

Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 80 hedge fund portfolios held Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) at the end of the fourth quarter compared to 65 in the third quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) 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 another article, we covered Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) and shared the list of best undervalued energy stocks to invest in. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2025 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.

READ NEXT: Michael Burry Is Selling These Stocks and A New Dawn Is Coming to US Stocks.

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