Wasatch Global Investors, an asset management company, released its “Wasatch Long/Short Alpha Fund” fourth-quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. US small caps experienced modest gains in Q4, driven by presidential election and anticipated economic growth and less regulation. However, markets fell in December as the Federal Reserve hinted that it could have to maintain interest rates higher in 2025 than investors had first anticipated. In this case, the fund fell -8.28% and trailed the benchmark Russell 2500™ Index, which returned 0.62%. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.
In its fourth quarter 2024 investor letter, Wasatch Long/Short Alpha Fund emphasized stocks such as Floor & Decor Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:FND). Floor & Decor Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:FND) is a multi-channel specialty retailer of hard surface flooring and related accessories. The one-month return of Floor & Decor Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:FND) was -11.90%, and its shares lost 31.90% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On March 18, 2025, Floor & Decor Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:FND) stock closed at $83.99 per share with a market capitalization of $9.02 billion.
Wasatch Long/Short Alpha Fund stated the following regarding Floor & Decor Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:FND) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“Another detractor on the long side was Floor & Decor Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:FND). The company is a specialty multi retailer of hard-surface flooring. Floor & Décor sources some of its supplies from China, and was likely down on concerns that increased tariffs under a Donald Trump presidency would raise costs for the business. While tariffs would be a headwind, it doesn’t change our thesis on the company. Floor & Decor has become a “category killer” among the big-box home centers. And because the company cuts out middlemen and buys in large quantities, it can offer its customers a wider selection of flooring at lower prices than most of its competitors. Floor & Decor’s expanding retail footprint, strong cash flows and solid balance sheet also provide the company with what we consider a built-in engine for self-funded growth.”
An overhead view of a website displaying the multiple options of flooring products available for purchase.
Floor & Decor Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:FND) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 34 hedge fund portfolios held Floor & Decor Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:FND) at the end of the fourth quarter compared to 23 in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, Floor & Decor Holdings, Inc.’s (NYSE:FND) total sales increased by 5.7% from Q4 2024, and comparable store sales decreased by a better-than-expected 0.8%. While we acknowledge the potential of Floor & Decor Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:FND) 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 Floor & Decor Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:FND) and shared Carillon Eagle Mid Cap Growth Fund’s views on the company. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q4 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.