C. Stephen Tusa Jr. J.P. Morgan The buy side says: “Terrific service, great industry knowledge and contacts.”
C. Stephen Tusa Jr. rises one rung to finish in first place for the first time. The 36-year-old is a “well-rounded, dynamic analyst,” in the estimation of one money manager. The J.P. Morgan researcher upgraded Honeywell International from neutral to overweight in August 2010, at $41.05, on its renewed investments in research and development and long-term earnings-growth potential. Shares of the Morristown, New Jersey–based diversified industrial giant had leaped to $59.75 by early July before getting dragged down by market turmoil to close August at $47.81, for a life-of-call gain of 16.5 percent that beat the sector by 10.3 percentage points. “Good call on Honeywell,” applauds one investor. Tusa, who earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Carlisle, Pennsylvania’s Dickinson College in 1997, worked at Philo Smith & Co. of Stamford, Connecticut, before moving to J.P. Morgan in October 1998. “He is an analyst you can trust,” insists one booster.
