Is Installed Building Products (IBP) a Prudent Capital Allocator?

Polen Capital, an investment management company, released its “Polen U.S. Small Company Growth Strategy” second-quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. In the second quarter, the fund delivered -8.55% gross and -8.67% net of fees compared to a -2.92% return for the Russell 2000 Growth Index and a -1.41% return for the S&P SmallCap 600 Growth Index. In addition, you can check the fund's top 5 holdings to find out its best picks for 2024.

Polen U.S. Small Company Growth Strategy highlighted stocks like Installed Building Products, Inc. (NYSE:IBP), in the second quarter 2024 investor letter. Installed Building Products, Inc. (NYSE:IBP) engages in the installation of insulation, waterproofing, fire-stopping, fireproofing, garage doors, rain gutters, window blinds, shower doors, closet shelving and mirrors, and other products. The one-month return of Installed Building Products, Inc. (NYSE:IBP) was 35.34%, and its shares gained 78.12% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On July 31, 2024, Installed Building Products, Inc. (NYSE:IBP) stock closed at $270.35 per share with a market capitalization of $7.69 billion.

Polen U.S. Small Company Growth Strategy stated the following regarding Installed Building Products, Inc. (NYSE:IBP) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:

"Installed Building Products, Inc. (NYSE:IBP) sells insulation services to homebuilders. IBP purchases insulation directly from manufacturers and can provide materials and fast, expert installation at a lower cost than contractors would spend buying the materials alone. They are one of two leading players with national scale in an otherwise fragmented market. Long-term, we believe the business will be driven by new home construction as well as steady market share gains and an expanding portfolio of products beyond insulation. Additionally, environmental and energy regulations have steadily driven an increase in insulation content over time. We see IBP as a prudent capital allocator with a proven strategy for deploying capital toward purchasing small "mom-and-pop" players in the market. Its returns on capital are notable with a 20% cash flow return on invested capital, and we believe IBP will be a compounder through a business cycle."

A construction worker installing a garage door in a new residential home.

Installed Building Products, Inc. (NYSE:IBP) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 22 hedge fund portfolios held Installed Building Products, Inc. (NYSE:IBP) at the end of the first quarter which was 25 in the previous quarter. In the first quarter, the consolidated net revenue of Installed Building Products, Inc. (NYSE:IBP) increased 5% to $693 million compared to $659 million in Q1 2023, driven by growth in residential and commercial end markets within the installation segment. While we acknowledge the potential of Installed Building Products, Inc. (NYSE:IBP) 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 Installed Building Products, Inc. (NYSE:IBP) and shared the list of small-cap stocks Jim Cramer is talking about. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q2 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.