Chartwell Investment Partners, LLC, an affiliate of Carillon Tower Advisers, Inc., released the “Carillon Chartwell Small Cap Value Fund” second quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the fund can be downloaded here. Significant interest rate volatility in the second quarter was caused by conflicting economic data and mixed inflation readings. As investors became less confident in the broader economy, the artificial intelligence (AI) boom persisted, and leadership in the equities markets kept decreasing. The Russell 1000? Growth Index, which tracks large-cap growth firms, increased by more than 8% while all other market sectors saw declines, creating an exceptionally sharp return gap. The Russell 2000? Value Index fell by about 4%, with small-cap value companies being the weakest. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.

Carillon Chartwell Small Cap Value Fund highlighted stocks like Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA) in the second quarter 2024 investor letter. Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA) is a commercial vehicle retailer. The one-month return of Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA) was -0.66%, and its shares gained 24.42% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On September 4, 2024, Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA) stock closed at $49.67 per share with a market capitalization of $3.86 billion.

Carillon Chartwell Small Cap Value Fund stated the following regarding Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:

"Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA) is the largest commercial vehicle dealer group in the United States, selling new trucks and operating a large, high-margin parts and service business. After the stock peaked on a relative basis at the close of the first quarter, sales and earnings disappointed investors amid weak industry sales due to low freight volumes and rates."

A convoy of vehicles in a large parking lot, showing the myriad of leasing and rental services offered.

Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 18 hedge fund portfolios held Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA) at the end of the second quarter which was 16 in the previous quarter. In the second quarter, Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA) delivered revenues of $2 billion and net income of $78.7 million or $0.97 per diluted share and declared a cash dividend of $0.18 per common share. While we acknowledge the potential of Rush Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:RUSHA) 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.