Conestoga Capital Advisors, an asset management company, released its fourth-quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. For the second consecutive year, U.S. equity indices ended the year with double-digit returns after generating modest returns in the fourth quarter of 2024. Conestoga’s investment plans were hindered by the enthusiasm for everything artificial intelligence (AI) related, which the firm believes led to a more speculative investing climate. The Conestoga Small Cap Composite surged 1.67% (net) in the fourth quarter compared to the Russell 2000 Growth Index’s 1.70% return. The Conestoga SMid Cap Composite returned -0.68% (net) trailing the Russell 2500 Growth Index’s 2.43% return. The Conestoga Micro Cap Composite advanced 9.91% (net) vs the Russell Microcap Growth Index’s return of 11.55%. Finally, the Conestoga Mid Cap Composite returned -4.63% (net) underperforming the Russell Midcap Growth Index’s 8.14% return. Please check the top 5 holdings of the fund for a better understanding of their best picks for 2024.
In its fourth quarter 2024 investor letter, Conestoga Capital Advisors emphasized stocks such as HEICO Corporation (NYSE:HEI-A). HEICO Corporation (NYSE:HEI-A) engages in the design and manufacturing of aerospace, defense, and electronic-related products and services. The one-month return HEICO Corporation (NYSE:HEI-A) was 3.11%, and its shares gained 20.66% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On February 11, 2025, HEICO Corporation (NYSE:HEI-A) stock closed at $186.86 per share, with a market capitalization of $28.439 billion.
Conestoga Capital Advisors stated the following regarding HEICO Corporation (NYSE:HEI-A) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“HEICO Corporation (NYSE:HEI-A) is a commercial and military aircraft aftermarket parts company which designs, manufactures, repairs and distributes jet engine and aircraft component replacement parts. The company reported a mixed quarter with continued strength in its flight support group and softer results from its electronic technologies group. We remain highly convicted in this cash flow compounder that is levered to aerospace aftermarket.”
A fighter jet in formation, revealing the prowess of the companies defense arm.
HEICO Corporation (NYSE:HEI-A) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 57 hedge fund portfolios held HEICO Corporation (NYSE:HEI-A) at the end of the third quarter which was 53 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of HEICO Corporation (NYSE:HEI-A) 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 addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q3 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.