Baron Funds, an investment management company, released its “Baron Partners Fund” first quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The first quarter of 2024 was disappointing for the fund. It declined 9.01% (institutional Shares) in the quarter trailing its primary benchmark, the Russell Midcap Growth Index (the Index), and the large-cap S&P 500 Index, which returned 9.50% and 10.56%, respectively. Over the last three years, the Fund has not advanced much. However, the Fund continues to have outstanding absolute and relative performance over the long run. Its annualized returns over the past 5, 10, and 15 years are 25.16%, 17.37%, and 20.45%, respectively, compared to the index’s annualized returns of 11.82%, 11.35%, and 15.64%, respectively. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.
Baron Partners Fund highlighted stocks like Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE:H) in the first quarter 2024 investor letter. Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE:H) is a hospitality company. Hyatt Hotels Corporation’s (NYSE:H) one-month return was -2.57%, and its shares gained 28.88% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On May 31, 2024, Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE:H) stock closed at $147.47 per share with a market capitalization of $14.921 billion.
Baron Partners Fund stated the following regarding Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE:H) in its first quarter 2024 investor letter:
“Shares of global hotelier Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE:H) increased in the quarter on continued progress towards its shift to a more asset-light business. 85% of its revenue now stems from management and franchise fees. This progress, along with the sale of the subscription-based Unlimited Vacation Club (while maintaining the management contract) improves consistency and predictability of earnings. Strong growth in revenue per available room and a steady expansion of its share of developer pipelines should enable Hyatt to generate robust free cash flow and achieve low double-digit EBITDA growth. Hyatt’s strong, underleveraged balance sheet keeps it well positioned to increase dividends and share repurchases.”
A luxury hotel in a busy city center, showcasing the quality of the hospitality group.
Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE:H) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 28 hedge fund portfolios held Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE:H) at the end of the first quarter which was 22 in the previous quarter. The system-wide RevPAR of Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE:H) grew 5.5% in the first quarter, driven mostly by demand across international markets.
In another article, we discussed Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE:H) and shared the list of stocks receiving downgrades from analysts. Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE:H) was one of the top contributors of Baron Focused Growth Fund in the previous quarter. Stock price increased during the quarter due to strong demand. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 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.
