Conestoga Capital Advisors, an asset management company, released its “Small Cap Strategy” first-quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. Conestoga Small Cap Composite returned 3.69% in the first quarter compared to 7.58% for the Russell 2000 Growth Index. The market continued to rise in the first quarter as many major asset classes delivered positive returns. Lack of holdings in Super Micro Computer Inc. (SMCI) and MicroStrategy Inc. (MSTR), the largest names in the benchmark, was the major reason for the underperformance of the portfolio relative to the index. In addition, stock selection in the technology sector, especially within the software industry proved challenging. Please check the top 5 holdings of the fund for a better understanding of their best picks for 2024.
Conestoga Capital Advisors Small Cap Strategy highlighted stocks like AAON, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAON), in the first quarter 2024 investor letter. AAON, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAON), with a market capitalization of $6.164 billion, engages in engineering, manufacturing, marketing, and selling air conditioning and heating equipment. One-month return of AAON, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAON) was -15.33%, and its shares gained 25.09% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On May 20, 2024, AAON, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAON) stock closed at $74.98 per share.
Conestoga Capital Advisors Small Cap Strategy stated the following regarding AAON, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAON) in its first quarter 2024 investor letter:
“AAON, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAON): Based in Tulsa, OK, AAON is a leading manufacturer of HVAC equipment in the United States. AAON reported strong fourth-quarter 2023 results exceeding investor expectations. The company’s revenues increased by 20% and its gross margin expanded. We believe the structural rise in the gross margins is a positive for the company and may drive growth over the next 3-5 years. The company’s revenues are expected to increase in fiscal year 2024, driven by its BASX unit, which provides cooling equipment for data centers.”
A technician surrounded by complex chillers and data center cooling solutions.
AAON, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AAON) trailing 12 months revenue is $1.16 billion. Year over year quarterly revenue growth rate of the company is 16.80%, and year over year quarterly earnings growth rate is -67.30%.
AAON, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAON) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 18 hedge fund portfolios held AAON, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAON) at the end of the fourth quarter which was 20 in the previous quarter.
In another article, we discussed AAON, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAON) and shared Conestoga Capital Advisors’ views on the company in the previous quarter. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2024 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.
