Wasatch Global Investors, an investment management firm, published its “Wasatch Core Growth Fund” fourth quarter 2021 investor letter – a copy of which can be downloaded here. During the fourth quarter, the benchmark Russell 2000® Index rose 2.14% while the Russell 2000 Growth Index increased 0.01%. Outperforming its benchmark, the Wasatch Core Growth Fund—Investor Class gained 5.72%. For the one-year period ended December 31, 2021, the Fund’s Investor Class returned 21.03%, which compared favorably to the 14.82% gain in the Russell 2000 Index and the 2.83% increase in the Russell 2000 Growth Index. Spare some time to check the fund’s top 5 holdings to have a clue about their top bets for 2022.
Wasatch Core Growth Fund, in its Q4 2021 investor letter, mentioned Ollie’s Bargain Outlet Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: OLLI) and discussed its stance on the firm. Ollie’s Bargain Outlet Holdings, Inc. is a Harrisburg, Pennsylvania-based discount store company with a $2.7 billion market capitalization. OLLI delivered a -15.14% return since the beginning of the year, while its 12-month returns are down by -47.13%. The stock closed at $43.44 per share on March 03, 2022.
Here is what Wasatch Core Growth Fund has to say about Ollie’s Bargain Outlet Holdings, Inc. in its Q4 2021 investor letter:
“Ollie’s Bargain Outlet Holdings, Inc. (OLLI) was also a significant detractor. The company’s retail stores offer a continually changing selection of close-out items and brand-name merchandise at
deeply discounted prices. Over the next several quarters, Ollie’s faces difficult comparisons to prior quarters when stimulus payments and enhanced unemployment benefits boosted the disposable income of consumers. During the height of the pandemic, Ollie’s also had an advantage because its stores were considered “essential” and not subject to government-mandated closures. Over the long term, we think the company’s unique treasure-hunt shopping experience and still-limited national footprint offer attractive prospects for expansion. In 2021, we added to the Fund’s holdings of Ollie’s based on the belief the stock price already reflects negative developments that may persist for several quarters. Such negative developments include delays in supply chains, rising transportation costs and lower margins. Moreover, management failed to ensure that an adequate supply of seasonal merchandise would arrive on time. Not only can seasonal merchandise be highly profitable but this merchandise is also a big draw for getting customers in stores to purchase other items. (Current and future holdings are subject to risk.)”
Photo by Fikri Rasyid on Unsplash
Our calculations show that Ollie’s Bargain Outlet Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: OLLI) failed to obtain a mark on our list of the 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. OLLI was in 23 hedge fund portfolios at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021, compared to 18 funds in the previous quarter. Ollie’s Bargain Outlet Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: OLLI) delivered a -30.89% return in the past 3 months.
In December 2021, we also shared another hedge fund’s views on OLLI in another article. You can find other letters from hedge funds and prominent investors on our hedge fund investor letters 2021 Q4 page.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
