Baron Funds, an investment management company, released its “Baron Asset Fund” fourth quarter 2023 investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. Declining interest rates and investors’ increasing confidence that there won’t be a hard-landing economic recession were both influenced by moderating inflation and improving labor market conditions. This bullish outlook fueled investor risk-taking and a robust equities market surge throughout the quarter. Against this backdrop, the fund gained 12.45% (Institutional Shares) in the fourth quarter underperforming the Russell Midcap Growth Index’s 14.55% return. Headwinds from the Fund’s style biases, particularly its underexposure to equities with elevated beta and residual volatility, as well as the impact of stock selection, contributed to its relative underperformance. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2023.
Baron Asset Fund featured stocks such as Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) in the fourth quarter 2023 investor letter. Headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) operates in the hospitality business. On January 24, 2024, Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) stock closed at $118.35 per share. One-month return of Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) was 4.78%, and its shares lost 4.75% of their value over the last 52 weeks. Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) has a market capitalization of $5.894 billion.
Baron Asset Fund stated the following regarding Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) in its fourth quarter 2023 investor letter:
“Several holdings in Consumer Discretionary, Industrials, and Financials were generally responsible for the relative shortfall during the quarter. Weakness in Consumer Discretionary was driven by declines from global ski resort company Vail Resorts, Inc. and hotel franchisor Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH). Choice’s shares were pressured by its proposed hostile takeover of Wyndham Hotels. If this acquisition is completed, we expect various benefits from the combined companies’ greater scale. If the deal falls through, we believe the stock would rebound to higher levels.”
A luxury hotel in a busy city center, showcasing the quality of the hospitality group.
Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 25 hedge fund portfolios held Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) at the end of third quarter which was 17 in the previous quarter.
We discussed Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) in another article and shared the list of best hospitality stocks to buy according to hedge funds. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q4 2023 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.
