Heartland Advisors, an investment management company, released its “Heartland Mid Cap Value Fund” fourth quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. Investors remained cautious going into the quarter as the Federal Reserve initiated its first rate-cutting cycle since the global pandemic, inflationary pressures seemed to be decreasing, and the probability of a recession appeared to be fading. The fund was down 5.50% in the quarter compared to 1.75% fall for the Russell 2000 Value Index. Stock selection was positive in Consumer Discretionary, Materials, and Consumer Staples sectors. In addition, you can check the fund’s top 5 holdings to determine its best picks for 2024.
Heartland Mid Cap Value Fund highlighted stocks like Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY) in the fourth quarter 2024 investor letter. Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY) markets and distributes various food and related products to the food service or food-away-from-home industry. The one-month return of Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY) was -5.54%, and its shares lost 1.59% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On January 13, 2025, Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY) stock closed at $73.71 per share with a market capitalization of $37.81 billion.
Heartland Mid Cap Value Fund stated the following regarding Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
Consumer Staples. Our 10 Principles of Value Investing™ require us to be patient and wait for a combination of factors to fall into place before committing to a stock. Among them are attractive valuations, sound finances, capable management teams, sound business strategies, catalysts for recognition, and positive earnings dynamics. Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY) is an example of our willingness to wait.
While we purchased shares of the nation’s largest food service distributor in the fourth quarter, we’ve been watching the company’s self-help strategy unfold for years. Recovering from an awful COVID-19-era operating environment, Sysco has been responding with sweeping improvements in its digital capabilities along with changes to sales management and cost containment. Recently, the company — which delivers ingredients and food products to restaurants while avoiding slower-growing grocery stores — has been making a push to grow its specialty platform, offering services such as pre-cut meat, pre-cut produce, and dry aged beef to help customers streamline their operations. When the company’s restaurant, hotel, and food service clients utilize Sysco’s specialty services, they tend to spend three times more than traditional broadline customers…” (Click here to read the full text)
A butcher shop showcasing fresh meats and seafood for customers.
Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 32 hedge fund portfolios held Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY) at the end of the third quarter which was 37 in the previous quarter. In the fiscal first quarter 2025, Sysco Corporation’s (NYSE:SYY) sales grew 4.4%. While we acknowledge the potential of Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY) 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 Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY) and shared Diamond Hill Capital’s top stock picks. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q4 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.