Conestoga Capital Advisors, an asset management company, released its third-quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. At its September meeting, the Federal Reserve lowered the Federal Funds rate by 50 basis points due to weaker employment growth and moderate inflation. Equity markets welcomed the news, raising optimism for a soft landing in the U.S. economy. On September 26th, the S&P 500 Index achieved a record high, the Russell 2000 Index also moved higher over the quarter but remains roughly 10% below its all-time high. The Conestoga Small Cap Composite surged 10.09% (net) in the third quarter outperforming the Russell 2000 Growth Index’s 8.41% return. The Conestoga SMid Cap Composite returned 12.94% (net) versus the Russell 2500 Growth Index’s 6.99% return. The Conestoga Micro Cap Composite advanced 7.60% (net) but trailed the Russell Microcap Growth Index’s return of 8.57%. Finally, the Conestoga Mid Cap Composite returned 8.36% (net) outperforming the Russell Midcap Growth Index’s 6.54%. Please check the top 5 holdings of the fund for a better understanding of their best picks for 2024.
Conestoga Capital Advisors highlighted stocks like MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) in the third quarter 2024 investor letter. MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) develops, manufactures, and supplies safety products and technology solutions. The one-month return of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) was -6.17%, and its shares gained 14.19% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On October 21, 2024, MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) stock closed at $170.86 per share with a market capitalization of $6.662 billion.
Conestoga Capital Advisors stated the following regarding MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:
“MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) develops, manufactures, and sells products that enable a safe and healthy environment for workers. MSA is a market leader in its segments, has a strong ROE, is under levered, and has been consistently beating earnings estimates. Shares were slightly lower in the quarter as investors took profits during periods of volatility, but we believe the company remains well positioned in its segments and continues to develop innovative products.”
Workers assembling industrial head protection products on the production line.
MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 16 hedge fund portfolios held MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) at the end of the second quarter which was 25 in the previous quarter. MSA Safety Incorporated’s (NYSE:MSA) second quarter sales were $462 million, up 4% on an organic constant-currency basis and 3% on a reported basis. While we acknowledge the potential of MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) 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 MSA Safety Incorporated (NYSE:MSA) and shared Conestoga Capital Advisors’ views on the company in the previous quarter. 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.