Carillon Tower Advisers, an investment management company, released its “Carillon Eagle Small Cap Growth Fund” third quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. After experiencing losses in the second quarter, small-cap stocks notably increased in the third quarter. The Russell 2000 Growth Index (up 8.41%) underperformed the Russell 2000 Value Index (up 10.11%). In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.

Carillon Eagle Small Cap Growth Fund highlighted stocks like Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF), in the third quarter 2024 investor letter. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) is an omnichannel retailer that offers an assortment of apparel, personal care products, and accessories. The one-month return of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) was 5.89%, and its shares gained 88.63% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On November 26, 2024, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) stock closed at $146.62 per share with a market capitalization of $7.49 billion.

Carillon Eagle Small Cap Growth Fund stated the following regarding Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:

"Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) is a global multi-brand omnichannel specialty retailer of apparel, personal care products, and accessories for men, women and kids. The stock lagged during the period despite reporting strong quarterly results and lifting forward guidance. We believe the performance is more a result of elevated investor expectations than any weakening of the underlying fundamentals, which we believe continue to remain strong."

A close-up of a customer trying on a piece of apparel in the retailer's spacious dressing room, emphasizing the company's focus on personal care and experience.

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 51 hedge fund portfolios held Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) at the end of the third quarter which was 48 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) 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 Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) and shared the list of most undervalued retail stocks to buy according to analysts. In Q2 2024, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) boosted the Carillon Eagle Small Cap Growth Fund’s performance after the company's stock surged following a strong earnings report. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q3 2024 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.