Baron Funds, an investment management company, released its “Baron Small Cap Fund” fourth-quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The fund was down 0.99% (Institutional Shares) in the quarter trailing the Russell 2000 Growth Index’s 1.70% return and the broader Russell 3000 Index’s 2.63% return. For the year the Fund was up 13.61% compared to 15.15% and 23.81% returns for the indexes. Although the fund’s performance this year did not surpass the benchmark, its long-term results are significantly better. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.
Baron Small Cap Fund highlighted stocks like Building Products, Inc. (NYSE:IBP), in the fourth quarter 2024 investor letter. Installed Building Products, Inc. (NYSE:IBP) engages in the installation of insulation, waterproofing, fire-stopping, fireproofing, garage doors, rain gutters, window blinds, shower doors, closet shelving and mirrors, and other products. The one-month return of Installed Building Products, Inc. (NYSE:IBP) was 17.45%, and its shares gained 2.17% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On January 30, 2024, Installed Building Products, Inc. (NYSE:IBP) stock closed at $206.22 per share with a market capitalization of $5.752 billion.
Baron Small Cap Fund stated the following regarding Installed Building Products, Inc. (NYSE:IBP) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“Installed Building Products, Inc. (NYSE:IBP) installs and delivers insulation and complementary building products for the U.S. residential and non-residential construction markets. Shares detracted on broader investor concerns that growth had stalled in its core residential market, with buyers facing headwinds, including crimped affordability (as mortgage rates continued to rise). We view these headwinds as somewhat temporary and remain optimistic about the company’s multi-year, multi-pronged growth strategy of organic and acquisitive growth.”
A construction worker installing a garage door in a new residential home.
Installed Building Products, Inc. (NYSE:IBP) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 22 hedge fund portfolios held Installed Building Products, Inc. (NYSE:IBP) at the end of the third quarter which was 31 in the previous quarter. Consolidated net revenue of Installed Building Products, Inc. (NYSE:IBP) for the third quarter increased 8% to an all-time record of $761 million compared to $707 million for Q3 2023. While we acknowledge the potential of Installed Building Products, Inc. (NYSE:IBP) 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 Installed Building Products, Inc. (NYSE:IBP) and shared Artisan Small Cap Fund’s views on the company in the previous quarter. 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.