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 United States Lime & Minerals, Inc. (NASDAQ:USLM), in the third quarter 2024 investor letter. United States Lime & Minerals, Inc. (NASDAQ:USLM) manufactures and supplies lime and limestone products. The one-month return of United States Lime & Minerals, Inc. (NASDAQ:USLM) was 24.37%, and its shares gained 189.03% of their value over the last 52 weeks.  On October 30, 2024, United States Lime & Minerals, Inc. (NASDAQ:USLM) stock closed at $107.07 per share with a market capitalization of $3.259 billion.

Diamond Hill Small Cap Fund stated the following regarding United States Lime & Minerals, Inc. (NASDAQ:USLM) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:

"On an individual holdings basis, among our top Q3 contributors were Live Oak Bancshares, First Advantage Corp. and United States Lime & Minerals, Inc. (NASDAQ:USLM)s. United States Lime & Minerals manufactures and supplies lime and limestone products to various construction and industrial customers. Though construction industry demand has remained sluggish, limestone pricing remains favorable, contributing to strong results. The balance sheet is in excellent shape, with an outsized cash balance providing the company with flexibility and a compelling margin of safety."

An open-pit quarry with heavy machinery and workers at a lime and limestone production facility.

United States Lime & Minerals, Inc. (NASDAQ:USLM) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 11 hedge fund portfolios held United States Lime & Minerals, Inc. (NASDAQ:USLM) at the end of the second quarter which was 9 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of United States Lime & Minerals, Inc. (NASDAQ:USLM) 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.