Baron Funds, an investment management company, released its “Baron Small Cap Fund” fourth-quarter 2022 investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. The fund was 4.24% up in the fourth quarter compared to a 4.13% return for the Russell 2000 Growth Index and a 7.56% return for the S&P 500 Index. For 2022, the fund was down 31.05% compared to a 26.36% fall for the Russell 2000 Growth Index and an 18.11% decline for the S&P 500 Index. Inflation and aggressive fed tightening impacted the fund’s performance in 2022. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2022.
Baron Small Cap Fund highlighted stocks like ASGN Incorporated (NYSE:ASGN) in its Q4 2022 investor letter. Based in Glen Allen, Virginia, ASGN Incorporated (NYSE:ASGN) is an information technology services and professional solutions provider in the technology, digital, and creative fields. On February 16, 2023, ASGN Incorporated (NYSE:ASGN) stock closed at $91.30 per share. One-month return of ASGN Incorporated (NYSE:ASGN) was 6.95% and its shares lost 15.11% of their value over the last 52 weeks. ASGN Incorporated (NYSE:ASGN) has a market capitalization of $4.556 billion.
Baron Small Cap Fund made the following comment about ASGN Incorporated (NYSE:ASGN) in its Q4 2022 investor letter:
“ASGN Incorporated (NYSE:ASGN) is large staffing company providing IT workers and professional services to Fortune 500 companies. Shares fell this quarter over concerns about demand for future hirings in a slowing economy. The company had a strong third quarter, growing revenues 11.6% and EBITDA 9%. Its consulting segment, a relatively new venture, grew revenues 43% in the quarter and now is about a quarter of overall revenues. The government services segment was flat, but we expect growth going forward as bookings have been strong. The company announced a nice acquisition of a consulting business that will enhance its cyber capabilities. Its customers’ technology initiatives are mission critical, so we expect business to be resilient even if the economy slows. We believe the stock is really cheap for this high-quality, fast-growing business, trading at under 12 times our estimate for 2023 earnings.”
Jacob Lund/Shutterstock.com
ASGN Incorporated (NYSE:ASGN) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 16 hedge fund portfolios held ASGN Incorporated (NYSE:ASGN) at the end of the third quarter, which was 19 in the previous quarter.
We discussed ASGN Incorporated (NYSE:ASGN) in another article and shared the list of best staffing company stocks to invest in. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q4 2022 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
Suggested Articles:
- 12 Most Profitable Robinhood Stocks
- Early Retirement Portfolio: 15 Stocks to Live Off Dividends
- 12 Most Promising EV Stocks According to Analysts
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
