Polen Capital, an investment management company, released its “Polen U.S. SMID Company Growth Strategy” fourth-quarter 2023 investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. The portfolio returned 14.98% gross and 14.65 % net of fees in the fourth quarter compared to a 12.59% return for the Russell 2500 Growth Index. The portfolio returned 29.39% gross and 28.05% net for the full year, compared to 18.93% return for the index. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2023.
Polen U.S. SMID Company Growth Strategy featured stocks such as Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL) in the fourth quarter 2023 investor letter. Headquartered in Covington, Louisiana, Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL) is a swimming pool supplies, equipment, and related leisure products distributor. On February 22, 2024, Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL) stock closed at $379.08 per share. One-month return of Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL) was 0.45%, and its shares gained 6.39% of their value over the last 52 weeks. Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL) has a market capitalization of $14.663 billion.
Polen U.S. SMID Company Growth Strategy stated the following regarding Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL) in its fourth quarter 2023 investor letter:
“Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL) is a leading distributor of swimming pools and related backyard products, and it is a company we previously owned in both US SCG and US SMID. Our decision to sell our position in 2021 was influenced by the perception that the business was overearning and valuation was stretched. After two years of patiently monitoring the business, thoroughly analyzing market conditions, and carefully considering the challenges posed by the post-COVID landscape over the past two years, we believe earnings are now bottoming and are excited to add POOL back to the Portfolio. The company boasts a remarkable performance history spanning more than two decades, including consistently high double-digit earnings growth and mid-teens cash flow return on invested capital. We do not believe the industry dynamics have meaningfully changed, only that conditions are beginning to normalize after a volatile four years.”
A close-up of a pool with freshly applied chemicals, showing the efficacy of the company’s products.
Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. At the end of the fourth quarter, Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL) was held by 42 hedge fund portfolios, up from 41 in the previous quarter, according to our database.
We discussed Pool Corporation (NASDAQ:POOL) in another article and shared The London Company Mid Cap Strategy’s views on the company. 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.
