Scout Investments, Inc, an affiliate of Carillon Tower Advisers, released the “Carillon Scout Mid Cap Fund” second quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The Russell Midcap® Index fell in Q2 as investors prioritized mega-cap technology businesses over smaller ones. IT, communications, and utilities were among the midcap industries with significant links to AI and attractive returns, as they matched the power requirements of AI servers. Surprisingly, the generally less cyclical consumer staples and healthcare sectors underperformed despite the index’s negative returns in the quarter. Overall, the U.S. economy appears steady going into the second half of the year. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.
Carillon Scout Mid Cap Fund highlighted stocks like Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY), in the second quarter 2024 investor letter. Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) is a convenience stores operating under the Casey’s and Casey’s General Store names. The one-month return of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) was -1.09%, and its shares appreciated 53.29% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On September 9, 2024, Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) stock closed at $366.97 per share with a market capitalization of $13.358 billion.
Carillon Scout Mid Cap Fund stated the following regarding Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:
“The top contributor to return for the quarter was Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY). The company reported better than expected first-quarter earnings results and offered a constructive outlook. Casey’s has always been more than a gas station, with a meaningful contribution from food and beverage and other in-store sales. As Casey’s continues to expand its store count, better utilize its new distribution center, and optimize shelf space, earnings may continue to exceed expectations. We see Casey’s as a steady compounder with an improved management team and less reliance on a strong economy for growth.”
A close-up of a hand selecting a food or beverage item from a store shelf.
Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 36 hedge fund portfolios held Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) at the end of the second quarter which was 30 in the previous quarter. In the recent quarter, Casey’s General Stores, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:CASY) net income increased by 6% to $180 million, while its EBITDA increased by 9% to $346 million. While we acknowledge the potential of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) 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 discussed Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) and shared the list of stocks Jim Cramer thinks you should check out. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q2 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.