Ariel Investments, an investment management company, released its “Ariel Appreciation Fund” fourth-quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. Global markets in 2024 exceeded forecasts, primarily due to the overwhelming success of the “magnificent seven,” or mega-cap technology stocks. Despite the concentration of gains, the optimism was fueled by the U.S. election results, solid earnings growth, and a healthy labor market. Against this backdrop, the fund returned -0.53% in the fourth quarter compared to Russell Midcap Value Index’s -1.75% returns, and the Russell Midcap Index’s +0.62% gain. The fund traded +6.30% higher, over the trailing one-year period compared to +13.07% and +15.34% returns for the indexes. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.
In its fourth quarter 2024 investor letter, Ariel Appreciation Fund emphasized stocks such as Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (NYSE:SWK). Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (NYSE:SWK) offers hand tools, power tools, outdoor products, and related accessories. The one-month return of Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (NYSE:SWK) was 2.31%, and its shares lost 6.97% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On February 4, 2024, Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (NYSE:SWK) stock closed at $86.66 per share, with a market capitalization of $13.36 billion.
Ariel Appreciation Fund stated the following regarding Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (NYSE:SWK) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“Alternatively, shares of Stanley Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (NYSE:SWK) traded lower on mixed earnings results. Although organic revenue growth declined on lower sales volumes, solid cost containment drove a bottom-line beat. Meanwhile, SWK’s transformation initiatives remain on track. The company delivered margin expansion by realizing savings from sourcing initiatives, productivity improvements and cost efficiencies. Though the macroeconomic backdrop remains challenging, management is cautiously optimistic lower interest rates will drive consumer demand. We have conviction in SWK’s experienced executive management team and think the balance sheet is well positioned to weather the storm.”
A toolbox filled with an array of different tools, representing the professional products of the company.
Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (NYSE:SWK) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 29 hedge fund portfolios held Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (NYSE:SWK) at the end of the third quarter which was 24 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (NYSE:SWK) 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 Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (NYSE:SWK) and shared the list of best dividend kings with the highest yields. Ariel Appreciation Fund benefited from Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.’s (NYSE:SWK) strong quarterly results 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.