Madison Investments, an investment advisor, released its “Madison Investors Fund” third-quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. In the third quarter, the fund (Class Y) appreciated 7.80% compared to a 5.89% return for the S&P 500 index. In the YTD, nine months period, the fund returned 16.96% compared to a 22.08% return for the index. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.
Madison Investors Fund highlighted stocks like Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) in the third quarter 2024 investor letter. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) is a home improvement retailer. The one-month return of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) was 7.38%, and its shares gained 49.51% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On October 18, 2024, Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) stock closed at $281.64 per share with a market capitalization of $159.773 billion.
Madison Investors Fund stated the following regarding Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:
“In the third quarter, the top five individual contributors to performance relative to the benchmark were Parker-Hannifin Corporation, Fiserv, Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW), Brookfield Corporation, and Progressive Corporation. Despite operating in very different sectors, Lowe’s Companies and Brookfield Corporation are both expected to benefit from the economic activity spurred on by declining interest rates. The Federal Reserve’s decision to lower interest rates sparked investor enthusiasm for both companies during the quarter, even as their sales and profits continue to moderate. For Lowe’s, sales remained weak in the latest quarter as most measures of the housing market remain sluggish. However, if interest rates come down and mortgages become more affordable, activity should return to the housing market which will boost Lowe’s business.”
A family excitedly browsing through the aisles of a home improvement retail store.
Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 62 hedge fund portfolios held Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) at the end of the second quarter which was 60 in the previous quarter. Lowe’s Companies, Inc.’s (NYSE:LOW) second quarter sales were $23.6 billion, with comparable sales down 5.1% year-over-year. While we acknowledge the potential of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) 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 Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) and shared the list of best hurricane and natural disaster stocks to buy. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) detracted from the performance of Madison Investors Fund in the previous quarter due to weak sales. 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.
