Conestoga Capital Advisors, an asset management company, released its third-quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. At its September meeting, the Federal Reserve lowered the Federal Funds rate by 50 basis points due to weaker employment growth and moderate inflation. Equity markets welcomed the news, raising optimism for a soft landing in the U.S. economy. On September 26th, the S&P 500 Index achieved a record high, the Russell 2000 Index also moved higher over the quarter but remains roughly 10% below its all-time high. The Conestoga Small Cap Composite surged 10.09% (net) in the third quarter outperforming the Russell 2000 Growth Index’s 8.41% return. The Conestoga SMid Cap Composite returned 12.94% (net) versus the Russell 2500 Growth Index’s 6.99% return. The Conestoga Micro Cap Composite advanced 7.60% (net) but trailed the Russell Microcap Growth Index’s return of 8.57%. Finally, the Conestoga Mid Cap Composite returned 8.36% (net) outperforming the Russell Midcap Growth Index’s 6.54%. Please check the top 5 holdings of the fund for a better understanding of their best picks for 2024.

Conestoga Capital Advisors highlighted stocks like Bowman Consulting Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:BWMN), in the third quarter 2024 investor letter. Bowman Consulting Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:BWMN) offers real estate, energy, infrastructure, and environmental management solutions. The one-month return of Bowman Consulting Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:BWMN) was -8.22%, and its shares lost 21.57% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On October 22, 2024, Bowman Consulting Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:BWMN) stock closed at $21.09 per share with a market capitalization of $383.943 million.

Conestoga Capital Advisors stated the following regarding Bowman Consulting Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:BWMN) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:

"Bowman Consulting Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:BWMN) is a multi-disciplinary consulting firm offering a broad range of real estate, energy, infrastructure, and environmental management solutions to both public and private clients. BWMN surprised investors with a second quarter report that fell short of plan and investor expectations. Despite robust civil infrastructure demand, BWMN saw higher interest rates pressure their Buildings Infrastructure division, which represents nearly half of their backlog. Management emphasized that deals have not been lost, just delayed. In addition, the Transportation segment saw multiple large projects starts delayed through the contracting process."

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