Longleaf Partners Small-Cap Fund Trimmed Empire State Realty (ESRT) as the P/V Gap Had Closed

Longleaf Partners, managed by Southeastern Asset Management, released its “Small-Cap Fund” fourth-quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. Longleaf experienced several environments throughout its experience in small-cap investing. This year, the underlying developments in the Fund’s holdings were more promising than the actual stock price returns when compared to the target of inflation plus 10% and the unusual performance of the Russell 2000. In Q4 2025, the Fund returned 1.13% compared to 2.40% for the Russell 3000 Index and 2.19% for the Russell 2000 Index. The Fund’s yearly return was 7.56% compared to 17.15% and 12.81% return for the indexes, respectively. In 2025, Southeastern demonstrated strong performance by protecting investments during market volatility, emphasizing the value of owning solid, free cash flow-generating companies over speculative fads. In addition, please check the Fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2025.

In its fourth-quarter 2025 investor letter, Longleaf Partners Small-Cap Fund highlighted stocks like Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT). Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT) is a NYC-focused REIT that owns and operates office, retail, and multifamily assets. On February 24, 2026, Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT) stock closed at $5.94 per share. One-month return of Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT) was -8.90%, and its shares lost 33.85% over the past 52 weeks. Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT) has a market capitalization of $1.764 billion.

Longleaf Partners Small-Cap Fund stated the following regarding Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT) in its fourth quarter 2025 investor letter:

"Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT) and Alexander’s – In the fourth quarter of 2024, we were trimming our position in New York real estate company ESRT, as it had been a strong performer and the P/V gap had closed. This year, both ESRT and its peer Alexander’s (which was a new position in 2025) faced stock market headwinds as New York real estate sentiment shifted. We have added to both at great prices. It is an interesting dynamic where the on-the-ground results are stronger than the headlines, with region wide leasing trends far outpacing weak stock price performance. The stock market worries about Mayor Mamdani, but that fear is now in the stock prices, plus it remains to be seen how truly business-unfriendly his administration will be. New York real estate has made it through a lot (the city going broke in the 1970s, 9/11, COVID, etc.) historically. These two stocks traded at or above our appraisals during the not-great de Blasio administration and are uniquely undervalued vs. peers today. Both of our holdings are on offense with multiple ways to grow value per share and a willingness to sell assets into a more attractively priced private market."

Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. According to our database, 17 hedge fund portfolios held Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT) at the end of the fourth quarter, the same as in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESRT) 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.

In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q4 2025 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.