ClearBridge Investments, an investment management company, released its “ClearBridge Large Cap Growth Strategy” second quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. In the second quarter, the gap in equity leadership narrowed considerably as mega-cap growth stocks reaffirmed their dominance and obscured weakness in most of the market. The S&P 500 Index rose 4.28% while the NASDAQ Composite advanced 8.26% for the period compared to a 3.28% decline for the small-cap Russell 2000 Index. The strategy underperformed its Russell 1000 Growth Index benchmark in the quarter and delivered gains across five of the 10 sectors it invested in, on an absolute basis. The IT was the primary contributor while the consumer staples and industrials detracted from the performance. Overall stock selection and sector allocation detracted from performance, on a relative basis. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.
ClearBridge Large Cap Growth Strategy highlighted stocks like NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE), in the second quarter 2024 investor letter. NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electric power to retail and wholesale customers. The one-month return of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) was -5.94%, and its shares gained 0.96% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On July 5, 2024, NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) stock closed at $72.09 per share with a market capitalization of $149.087 billion.
ClearBridge Large Cap Growth Strategy stated the following regarding NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:
“AI-related momentum was a key driver of performance in the second quarter, lifting the enablers in technology as well as holdings like renewable power producer NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) that supply the increasing energy needs of data centers. Parts of the market lacking an AI connection, like our medical device holdings, underperformed despite no change to fundamentals. We have managed through several similar momentum periods over our tenure and have delivered long-term results for shareholders by staying true to an approach that emphasizes diversification across three buckets of growth companies (select, stable and cyclical) and seeks to take advantage of attractive entry points into quality growth businesses.”
Wind turbines against a backdrop of the sky, signifying the power of renewable energy.
NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 72 hedge fund portfolios held NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) at the end of the first quarter which was 65 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) 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.
We discussed NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) in another article and shared the list of best dividend aristocrat stocks to buy and hold. 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.
