Carillon Tower Advisers, an investment management company, released its first-quarter 2026 investor letter for the “Carillon Eagle Small Cap Growth Fund”. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. Small-cap stocks delivered mixed results in the quarter as the market favored value stocks over growth. The Russell 2000 Growth Index fell 2.82% in the quarter, while the Russell 2000® Value Index increased 4.96%. The first quarter saw equity market volatility due to Iran strikes, boosting energy prices. The firm is optimistic that the turbulence in the market will be short-lived, with improved valuations and potential positive developments from de-escalation in the Middle East. In addition, please check the Fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2026.
In its first-quarter 2026 investor letter, Carillon Eagle Small Cap Growth Fund highlighted Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC). Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC) is a US-based energy infrastructure company that provides natural gas compression services. On June 24, 2026, Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC) closed at $38.79 per share. One-month return of Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC) was 12.11%, and its shares gained 53.81% over the past 52 weeks. Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC) has a market capitalization of $6.79 billion.
Carillon Eagle Small Cap Growth Fund stated the following regarding Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC) in its Q1 2026 investor letter:
“Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC), an energy infrastructure company focused on midstream natural gas compression, performed well as improving oil prices supported expectations for modestly stronger US production growth in the near term. Given that its earnings are closely tied to natural gas volumes, this shift in outlook benefited sentiment. Archrock is well positioned longer term to capitalize on the robust sustained growth in domestic natural gas production. This is driven by expanding LNG export capacity and ever-increasing power demand associated with the buildout of artificial intelligence infrastructure.”
Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC) is not on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026. According to our database, 36 hedge fund portfolios held Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC) at the end of the first quarter, up from 30 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC) and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
In another article, we covered Archrock, Inc. (NYSE:AROC) and shared the list of most profitable energy stocks to buy. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2026 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
