Conestoga Capital Advisors, an asset management company, released its “Small Cap Strategy” fourth-quarter 2023 investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. In 2023, the Small Cap Composite outperformed the Russell 2000 Growth Index benchmark and returned 21.93% versus the benchmark’s return of 18.66%. The strategy rose 10.97% net-of-fees in the fourth quarter compared to the 12.75% return for the index. As anticipated, the strategy produced the majority of its outperformance during the down-market times. In general, 2023 had mixed results for better-caliber businesses. Sector allocations contributed more to Conestoga’s relative performance in the Small Cap Composite than stock selection effects did. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2023.
Conestoga Capital Advisors Small Cap Strategy featured stocks such as AAON, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAON) in the fourth quarter 2023 investor letter. Headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, AAON, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAON) is an air conditioning and heating equipment manufacturer. On February 16, 2024, AAON, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAON) stock closed at $84.30 per share. One-month return of AAON, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAON) was 19.88%, and its shares gained 58.06% of their value over the last 52 weeks. AAON, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAON) has a market capitalization of $6.849 billion.
Conestoga Capital Advisors Small Cap Strategy stated the following regarding AAON, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAON) in its fourth quarter 2023 investor letter:
“AAON, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAON): AAON is a leading manufacturer of HVAC equipment in the United States. AAON’s 3Q results exceeded expectations. Revenues were up 29% and earnings were modestly ahead of consensus expectations. The company’s quarter was highlighted by gross margins of 37%, and EBITDA margins of 25% which were significantly better than expectations. Bookings also continued to demonstrate strong growth of 31%. AAON’s results continue to suggest a healthy end market which investors were concerned was starting to slow.”
A technician surrounded by complex chillers and data center cooling solutions.
AAON, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAON) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. At the end of the fourth quarter, AAON, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAON) was held by 18 hedge fund portfolios, down from 20 in the previous quarter, according to our database.
We discussed AAON, Inc. (NASDAQ:AAON) in another article and shared Baron Discovery Fund’s views on the company. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q4 2023 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.
