NZS Capital, LLC, an investment management company, released its “NZS Growth Strategy” third quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The strategy returned 3.97% (gross) and 4.13% (net) in the quarter, compared to 6.56% for the Morningstar Global Target Market Exposure (NR) index and 4.53% for the Morningstar Global Growth Target Market Exposure Index (NR). To some extent, the market’s attention shifted during the quarter. As enthusiasm for AI, semiconductors, and technology in general declined, focus turned to other industries, including financials, industrial and consumer staples. In addition, you can check the top 5 holdings of the fund to know its best picks in 2024.
NZS Capital highlighted stocks like The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR), in the third quarter 2024 investor letter. The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) is an insurance holding company. The one-month return of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) was -9.74%, and its shares gained 52.11% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On December 20, 2024, The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) stock closed at $239.97 per share with a market capitalization of $140.577 billion.
NZS Capital stated the following regarding The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:
“In financials, The Progressive Corporation’s (NYSE:PGR) growth in insurance policies in force exceeded expectations as it accelerated reinvestment back into its data-driven growth engine, funded by outperformance against its targeted level of profitability.
In our process, we search for disruptive change in the economy. One common theme is companies adopting digital technologies in previously analog industries. We own companies in the portfolio that sell the building block technology to enable these changes. Progressive Insurance, a holding in the resilient sleeve, is a great example, however, of a company using digital technology to disrupt an analog industry. Most drivers likely view auto insurance as a requirement, relatively homogenous but expensive, and a purchase that should be price-shopped frequently. For much of the last 25 years, GEICO’s direct-to-consumer model and laser focus on being the lowest cost provider, in terms of underwriting expenses, allowed it to grow market share…” (Click here to read the full text)
The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 95 hedge fund portfolios held The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) at the end of the third quarter which was 89 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) 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 The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) and shared billionaire Andreas Halvorsen’s stock picks. In Q3 2024, The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) contributed to the performance of Bretton Capital Management. 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.