Every once in a while, a name pops up in a filing that tells you something interesting is happening beneath the surface.

Not because the manager runs billions of dollars or shows up on financial television every afternoon, but because their strategy lives in that messy intersection between deep value and corporate confrontation.

JCP Investment Management out of Houston is one of those firms.

Led by James Pappas, the shop operates less like a traditional hedge fund and more like a catalyst factory, buying into underperforming small and mid-cap companies and then working aggressively to change the outcome.

This is not passive investing.

This is governance driven, event-oriented activism built around the idea that cheap alone is not enough. Sometimes you have to push.

Pappas did not come out of the classic portfolio manager pipeline. His background is rooted in leveraged finance and consumer investment banking, including time at Goldman Sachs and Banc of America Securities working on buyouts, restructurings, and capital structure transactions.

That deal making DNA shows up clearly in the way JCP invests today. Instead of screening for low multiples and waiting patiently for sentiment to turn, the firm tends to accumulate meaningful stakes and advocate for change. Board seats, strategic reviews, asset sales, and operational resets are part of the toolkit.

Think less Walter Schloss sitting quietly with a stack of annual reports and more a restructuring banker who realized the public markets offer plenty of opportunities if you are willing to get involved.

JCP has developed a particular reputation in consumer, retail, and restaurant names, areas where operational execution and capital allocation decisions can dramatically influence valuation. Campaigns have ranged from pushing for strategic alternatives to encouraging spin-offs or governance changes designed to unlock value that the market may be ignoring.

What makes Pappas interesting from a structural standpoint is his willingness to step into the boardroom. Over the years he has held multiple public company directorships and chairmanships, often following activist campaigns where JCP advocated for change.

That operator style involvement blurs the line between investor and participant. He is not simply analyzing financial statements from a distance. He is trying to influence strategy from inside the company. Whether you agree with the activist approach or not, it represents a fundamentally different mindset from traditional deep value investing.

The thesis is not just that the stock is cheap. The thesis is that something specific can be done to close the gap between price and intrinsic value.

For those of us focused on asymmetric opportunities, firms like JCP matter because they highlight situations where valuation and catalyst begin to overlap. When an activist with operational experience shows up, it often means the easy narrative around a company is breaking down.

Maybe management has lost credibility.

Maybe capital allocation has been poor.

Maybe assets are worth more in pieces than as a whole.

 None of that guarantees success, but it does create a roadmap that investors can study. In a market where passive flows dominate and everyone chases the same momentum trades, watching smaller activist players can sometimes reveal the next wave of overlooked opportunities hiding in plain sight.

A study of the firm's 13F filings over add last several years reveals that owning the firms' top positions is a winning strategy and easily outperform the broader market.

Add in a volatility embracing attitude and a dash of buy side discipline and readers could improve on that performance.

Here are five of JCP Investments largest purchases in the last quarter of 2025:

Denny's Corp. – (NASDAQ:DENN) showed up as one of the more interesting additions because it sits right at the crossroads of deep value and operational turnaround, which is exactly where activist capital tends to hunt. This is not a glamorous growth story. It is a mature restaurant brand with uneven execution, margin pressure, and a shareholder base that has grown increasingly impatient with the pace of change. That combination is often what attracts a firm like JCP. The thesis here is not that Denny's suddenly becomes a high growth concept. It is that disciplined capital allocation, refranchising, cost control, and potentially strategic alternatives can narrow the gap between enterprise value and underlying cash flow. In Alpha Buying terms, this is a catalyst driven reversion play, not a momentum trade.

Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HE) looks very different on the surface but fits the same activist playbook when you step back and look at the balance sheet and headline risk discount. The company has been under immense pressure due to wildfire liabilities and regulatory uncertainty, which has pushed sentiment to extremely negative levels. Activist investors often step into situations like this when the market begins pricing in worst case scenarios as certainty. The attraction here is the potential disconnect between long term regulated utility cash flows and the panic driven valuation. If liabilities become clearer or capital structure solutions emerge, even modest stabilization could lead to a meaningful rerating. This is a high risk, special situations investment where volatility is part of the process.

NCR Atleos Corp. – (NYSE:NATL) reflects a more classic deep value insurance angle and feels closer to the Graham and Whitman school of investing than to the restaurant activism plays. Life insurers trading below intrinsic value with strategic optionality have historically attracted activist attention because the asset base often carries more value than the market price implies. Whether the catalyst is a sale, restructuring, or improved capital deployment, the appeal lies in unlocking embedded book value that has been overlooked or discounted by the market. For investors focused on asset value and downside protection, NATL represents a balance sheet driven thesis where patience and corporate action tend to go hand in hand.

Fidelity National Financial – (NYSE:FNF) brings a more cash flow oriented and capital allocation focused angle to the portfolio. Title insurance is not a fast-moving business, but it throws off significant cash across housing cycles and gives management flexibility to return capital through dividends and buybacks. When activists look at a name like FNF, they often see an opportunity to sharpen focus on shareholder returns or highlight the value of ancillary businesses that may not be fully reflected in the share price. In a market obsessed with technology narratives, companies tied to real estate infrastructure can drift into undervalued territory simply because they lack excitement, which is exactly where catalyst driven investors tend to step in.

Kinder Morgan, Inc. – (NYSE:KMI) rounds out the group with a very different profile, leaning toward income producing infrastructure rather than turnaround or litigation driven special situations. Midstream energy companies generate steady cash flow backed by hard assets, long term contracts, and the ongoing demand for natural gas and energy transport. For an activist or catalyst-oriented investor, the attraction often centers on valuation relative to distributable cash flow and the potential for improved capital discipline. In an environment where energy demand remains resilient and infrastructure assets are difficult to replicate, KMI offers a blend of yield, asset backing, and strategic optionality that fits well within a portfolio looking for asymmetric setups rather than headline grabbing growth stories.