Carillon Tower Advisers, an investment management company, released its “Carillon Eagle Small Cap Growth Fund” fourth quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. Small-cap stocks had mixed results in the fourth quarter, failing to match their previous quarter's rebound. The Russell 2000® Growth Index rose 1.70%, outperforming the Russell 2000® Value Index, which fell 1.07%, ending in negative territory. Small caps had a strong year in 2024, with the Russell 2000 Growth Index rising 15.14%, nearly matching the previous year’s results and outperforming the Russell 2000 Value Index, which increased by 8.04% but saw a decline on an annual basis. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.

In its fourth quarter 2024 investor letter, Carillon Eagle Small Cap Growth Fund emphasized stocks such as Zeta Global Holdings Corp. (NYSE:ZETA). Zeta Global Holdings Corp. (NYSE:ZETA) an omnichannel data-driven cloud platform that offers enterprises with consumer intelligence and marketing automation software. The one-month return Zeta Global Holdings Corp. (NYSE:ZETA) was -23.98%, and its shares gained 44.87% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On March 24, 2025, Zeta Global Holdings Corp. (NYSE:ZETA) stock closed at $15.66 per share with a market capitalization of $3.723 billion.

Carillon Eagle Small Cap Growth Fund stated the following regarding Zeta Global Holdings Corp. (NYSE:ZETA) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:

"Zeta Global Holdings Corp. (NYSE:ZETA) is a marketing automation software vendor focused on customer data. The company has seen a healthy growth rate while posting solid margins and cash flow in 2024, but a short seller issued a report with accusations of improper customer data collection. Management answered the report’s accusations in lengthy detail. We expect that steady revenue growth and margin performance in upcoming quarters to clear up the issues."

A marketing manager looking at the data dashboard of a marketing automation software showing successful campaign results.

Zeta Global Holdings Corp. (NYSE:ZETA) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 39 hedge fund portfolios held Zeta Global Holdings Corp. (NYSE:ZETA) at the end of the fourth quarter which was 31 in the previous quarter. In the fourth quarter of 2024, Zeta Global Holdings Corp. (NYSE:ZETA) achieved record revenue of $315 million, representing a 50% increase compared to the previous year. Furthermore, adjusted EBITDA reached a record $70 million, which is a 57% rise year-over-year, both figures surpassing the previously set guidance. While we acknowledge the potential of Zeta Global Holdings Corp. (NYSE:ZETA) 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 Zeta Global Holdings Corp. (NYSE:ZETA) and shared the list of stocks Jim Cramer recently discussed. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q4 2024 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.

READ NEXT: Michael Burry Is Selling These Stocks and A New Dawn Is Coming to US Stocks.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.