Diamond Hill Capital, an investment management company, released its “Small Cap Fund” third-quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. In Q3, markets contributed to strong year-to-date gains, though not without some volatility. As shown by the Russell 2000 Index, small-cap equities increased by 9%, while the broad market Russell 3000 Index increased by slightly more than 6%. Against this backdrop, the strategy trailed the index and returned 8.43% in the quarter compared to 9.27% for the Russell 2000 Index. For more information on the fund’s top picks in 2024, please check its top five holdings.

Diamond Hill Small Cap Fund highlighted stocks like Proficient Auto Logistics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAL), in the third quarter 2024 investor letter. )Proficient Auto Logistics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAL) offers auto transportation and logistics services in North America. The one-month return of Proficient Auto Logistics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAL) was -40.46%, and its shares lost 58.05% of their value over the last three months.  On October 30, 2024, Proficient Auto Logistics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAL) stock closed at $8.34 per share with a market capitalization of $213.135 million.

Diamond Hill Small Cap Fund stated the following regarding Proficient Auto Logistics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAL) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:

"We continue finding compelling new ideas, even as the bull market proceeds. In Q3, we initiated new positions in Insperity, International General Insurance Holdings, Perma-Fix Environmental Services and Proficient Auto Logistics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAL).

Proficient Auto Logistics is an auto logistics business, transporting new and used vehicles between factories, dealers and other locations. It operates in a highly fragmented industry with an advantage tied to its wide array of delivery routes, which should allow it to improve its operating ratio over time. As shares have traded at an interesting discount relative to our estimate of intrinsic value, we initiated a position in Q3."

Proficient Auto Logistics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAL) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 14 hedge fund portfolios held Proficient Auto Logistics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAL)) at the end of the second quarter which was 0 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Proficient Auto Logistics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAL) 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 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.