Madison Investments, an investment advisor, released its “Madison Small Cap Fund” first-quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. In the first quarter, the fund returned 11.4% compared to a 5.2% return for the Russell 2000 Index and a 6.9% return for the Russell 2500 Index. All sectors except communication services and energy posted positive relative performance. Sector allocation was also additive, even though stock selection was primarily responsible for the fund’s outperformance. In addition, you can check the top 5 holdings of the fund to know its best picks in 2024.
Madison Small Cap Fund featured stocks like Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) in the first quarter 2024 investor letter. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) is an infrastructure company that produces and markets products and services for the transmission, distribution, and measurement of water. On April 17, 2024, Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) stock closed at $15.34 per share. One-month return of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) was -4.36%, and its shares gained 13.46% of their value over the last 52 weeks. Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) has a market capitalization of $2.396 billion.
Madison Small Cap Fund stated the following regarding Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) in its first quarter 2024 investor letter:
“During the quarter, we sold two stocks (Alteryx and PTC) and initiated two new investment positions (HashiCorp and Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)). Mueller Water Products (MWA) manufactures products and services used in the transmission, distribution, and measurement of water in North America. They help utilities deliver clean, safe drinking water. The company’s domain strength is after the water leaves treatment and before the home, or the vast network of pipes and valves between the utility and the point of use, things like fire hydrants, brass works, and large valves. It’s largely a replacement market with 40% exposure to residential and the rest utilities. Very few companies with scale compete directly with MWA. The company has significant share positions in hydrants and big gate valves. Their customer base is quite sticky, and the company has recently completed an investment cycle building a new foundry. America’s water infrastructure is massive and in very serious need for upgrade and modernization. Significant federal funds have been allocated to do just this and we believe MWA is well positioned to capitalize. We estimate a reasonable PMV for MWA is approximately $25.”
A plumber crouched in a crawlspace, working on a pipe repair project for residential construction.
Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. At the end of the fourth quarter, Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) was held by 13 hedge fund portfolios, compared to 11 in the previous quarter, according to our database.
We previously discussed Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) in another article, where we shared the list of best dividend stocks under $20. 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.