Investment management company First Pacific Advisors recently released its “FPA Queens Road Small Cap Value Fund” fourth quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. In the fourth quarter, the fund returned 2.38% compared to a -1.06 % return for the Russell 2000 Value Index. For the full year, the fund returned 10.76% compared to an 8.05% return for the index. The firm’s focus is on long-term performance, aiming to outperform the Russell 2000 Value Index with less risk throughout the entire market cycle. In addition, you can check the fund’s top 5 holdings to determine its best picks for 2024.

In its fourth quarter 2024 investor letter, FPA Queens Road Small Cap Value Fund emphasized stocks such as Deckers Outdoor Corporation (NYSE:DECK). Deckers Outdoor Corporation (NYSE:DECK) is a footwear, apparel, and accessories company for everyday casual lifestyle and high-performance activities. The one-month return of Deckers Outdoor Corporation (NYSE:DECK) was -22.46%, and its shares lost 11.99% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On March 4, 2025, Deckers Outdoor Corporation (NYSE:DECK) stock closed at $133.78 per share with a market capitalization of $20.304 billion.

FPA Queens Road Small Cap Value Fund stated the following regarding Deckers Outdoor Corporation (NYSE:DECK) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:

"Deckers Outdoor Corporation (NYSE:DECK) is a footwear and apparel company that owns the UGG, Hoka, Teva, Sanuk, and Koolaburra brands. Management has done a terrific job growing and extending the UGG franchise and developing Hoka running shoes. We first bought a small position in Deckers in 2015 and 2016 when the company was struggling with supply chain issues. The stock is up more than ten times since then because of excellent operating performance. We have trimmed all the way up. In 2024, the company’s market cap exceeded $20 billion and we trimmed even more substantially. Deckers trades at over thirty times forward earnings (as of Dec. 31, 2024) and we continue to trim."

A customer browsing a retail store, finding the perfect footwear for their casual outfits.

Deckers Outdoor Corporation (NYSE:DECK) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 66 hedge fund portfolios held Deckers Outdoor Corporation (NYSE:DECK) at the end of the fourth quarter compared to 61 in the third quarter. In the third quarter of fiscal 2025, Deckers Outdoor Corporation’s (NYSE:DECK) revenue grew 17% year-over-year to $1.8 billion. While we acknowledge the potential of Deckers Outdoor Corporation (NYSE:DECK) 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 Deckers Outdoor Corporation (NYSE:DECK) and shared The London Company SMID Cap Strategy's views on the company. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q4 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.