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 Montrose Environmental Group, Inc. (NYSE:MEG) in the third quarter 2024 investor letter. Montrose Environmental Group, Inc. (NYSE:MEG) is an environmental services company. The one-month return of Montrose Environmental Group, Inc. (NYSE:MEG) was -2.93%, and its shares gained 14.32% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On October 22, 2024, Montrose Environmental Group, Inc. (NYSE:MEG) stock closed at $27.14 per share with a market capitalization of $928.999 million.
Conestoga Capital Advisors stated the following regarding Montrose Environmental Group, Inc. (NYSE:MEG) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:
“Montrose Environmental Group, Inc. (NYSE:MEG) is a pure play environmental services company that offers end-to-end solutions for addressing environmental issues. Despite reporting a strong quarter, the stock sold off roughly 40% during the quarter following the Supreme Court overturning a legal precedent (“Chevron Deference”). This introduced fears that the Environment Protection Agency will not be able to push new regulations, or that enforcement actions of existing environmental regulations would be delayed.”
A biohazard waste disposal team safely transferring contaminated water for treatment.
Montrose Environmental Group, Inc. (NYSE:MEG) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 17 hedge fund portfolios held Montrose Environmental Group, Inc. (NYSE:MEG) at the end of the second quarter which was 13 in the previous quarter. Montrose Environmental Group, Inc. (NYSE:MEG)’s revenues surged to a record $173.3 million in the second quarter, an 8.9% increase over Q2 2023, and climbed by 13.1% to $328.7 million in the first half of the year. While we acknowledge the potential of Montrose Environmental Group, Inc. (NYSE:MEG) 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 Montrose Environmental Group, Inc. (NYSE:MEG) and shared Baron Discovery Fund’s views on the company in the previous quarter. Montrose Environmental Group, Inc. (NYSE:MEG) contributed to the performance of Conestoga Capital Advisors in the previous quarter driven by strong organic growth. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q3 2024 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
READ NEXT: Michael Burry Is Selling These Stocks and A New Dawn Is Coming to US Stocks.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.