Conestoga Capital Advisors, an asset management company, released its fourth-quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. For the second consecutive year, U.S. equity indices ended the year with double-digit returns after generating modest returns in the fourth quarter of 2024. Conestoga’s investment plans were hindered by the enthusiasm for everything artificial intelligence (AI) related, which the firm believes led to a more speculative investing climate. The Conestoga Small Cap Composite surged 1.67% (net) in the fourth quarter compared to the Russell 2000 Growth Index’s 1.70% return. The Conestoga SMid Cap Composite returned -0.68% (net) trailing the Russell 2500 Growth Index’s 2.43% return. The Conestoga Micro Cap Composite advanced 9.91% (net) vs the Russell Microcap Growth Index’s return of 11.55%. Finally, the Conestoga Mid Cap Composite returned -4.63% (net) underperforming the Russell Midcap Growth Index’s 8.14% return. Please check the top 5 holdings of the fund for a better understanding of their best picks for 2024.
In its fourth quarter 2024 investor letter, Conestoga Capital Advisors emphasized stocks such as Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (NYSE:UTI). Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (NYSE:UTI) offers transportation, skilled trades, and healthcare education programs. The one-month return Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (NYSE:UTI) was 8.17%, and its shares gained 78.13% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On February 11, 2025, Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (NYSE:UTI) stock closed at $27.93 per share, with a market capitalization of $1.519 billion.
Conestoga Capital Advisors stated the following regarding Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (NYSE:UTI) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (NYSE:UTI) is a leading workforce education provider of skilled trade and healthcare and education programs. UTI trains over 20,000 students annually. Shares jumped on the election results but generated most of the quarter’s return on the company’s strong fourth quarter results. Revenue grew 15% and beat expectations. EBITDA margins have also risen over the past year. Fiscal year 2025 guidance was nudged higher earlier in 2024, driven by the strong new student enrollment UTI is seeing across its markets.”
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Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (NYSE:UTI) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 23 hedge fund portfolios held Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (NYSE:UTI) at the end of the third quarter which was 24 in the previous quarter. In the fiscal first quarter of 2025, Universal Technical Institute, Inc.’s (NYSE:UTI) revenue increased 15% year-over-year to $201.4 million. While we acknowledge the potential of Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (NYSE:UTI) 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.
Conestoga Capital Advisors added Universal Technical Institute, Inc. (NYSE:UTI) to its portfolio during Q2 2024. 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.