Conestoga Capital Advisors, an asset management company, released its “Small Cap Strategy” second-quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The second quarter of 2024 may be regarded as a time of moderation. Economic indicators largely reflected slowing growth and easing inflation. Equity markets are also driven by the moderation theme. Large-cap stocks, as measured by the S&P 500, rose 3.9% in the second quarter, however, small-cap stocks lagged again, with the Russell 2000 Index declining -3.3% and the Russell 2000 Growth Index declining -2.9%. Conestoga Small Cap Composite fell -5.59% in the second quarter compared to -2.92% for the Russell 2000 Growth Index. Stock selection was the major reason for the underperformance of the portfolio relative to the index. Please check the top 5 holdings of the fund for a better understanding of their best picks for 2024.
Conestoga Capital Advisors highlighted stocks like Simpson Manufacturing Co., Inc. (NYSE:SSD) in the second quarter 2024 investor letter. Simpson Manufacturing Co., Inc. (NYSE:SSD) designs, engineers, manufactures, and sells structural solutions for wood, concrete, and steel connections. The one-month return of Simpson Manufacturing Co., Inc. (NYSE:SSD) was -3.60%, and its shares gained 16.84% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On August 15, 2024, Simpson Manufacturing Co., Inc. (NYSE:SSD) stock closed at $176.24 per share with a market capitalization of $7.431 billion.
Conestoga Capital Advisors stated the following regarding Simpson Manufacturing Co., Inc. (NYSE:SSD) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:
“Simpson Manufacturing Co., Inc. (NYSE:SSD): SSD’s 1Q24 results fell below expectations at the top and bottom line. While the company does not provide quarterly guidance, revenue came in modestly below Street estimates. The company did reiterate its annual guidance, but the quarterly shortfall weighed on shares during the period. The company’s results were negatively impacted by the timing of rebates to certain large customers and its continued heavy investment in new product development and market penetration.”
A worker on a construction site using specialized tools to connect concrete blocks.
Simpson Manufacturing Co., Inc. (NYSE:SSD) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 21 hedge fund portfolios held Simpson Manufacturing Co., Inc. (NYSE:SSD) at the end of the first quarter which was 19 in the previous quarter. Simpson Manufacturing Co., Inc.’s (NYSE:SSD) net sales for the second quarter were $597 million, which was in line with Q2 2023. While we acknowledge the potential of Simpson Manufacturing Co., Inc. (NYSE:SSD) 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 Simpson Manufacturing Co., Inc. (NYSE:SSD) and shared the list of best lumber stocks to buy. 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.
