Richard Gross Barclays
second team Gabriel Moreen BofA Merrill Lynch
third team Michael Blum Wells Fargo
Taking top honors in this new sector is Richard Gross of Barclays Capital. Gross, who is also No. 2 in Natural Gas, downgraded Atlas Pipeline Partners to sell in September 2008 on the belief that the Moon Township, Pennsylvania–based partnership would slash its quarterly distribution payments to unit holders, and it did. Distributions fell from 96 cents per unit in November to 39 cents in February to 15 cents in May, when the company suspended payments for the remainder of the year. Gross, 59, is a 1974 graduate of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, with a master’s degree in finance. He has worked as an energy analyst for 36 years, joining Lehman in 1991 from J.P. Morgan. Clients say he “consistently provides a long-term view of the sector,” and is “the most prolific MLP analyst on the Street.”
BofA Merrill’s Gabriel Moreen debuts in second place, in part for correctly calling price moves in DCP Midstream Partners. Moreen upgraded the Denver-based outfit in December, at $7.82, after management announced plans to acquire from general partner DCP Midstream an additional 25.1 percent interest, for a total of 50.1 percent, in DCP East Texas Holdings. (The deal was completed in April.) The stock shot up 186.3 percent, to $22.39, through August. During the same period the sector rose 37.7 percent.
Michael Blum of Wells Fargo finishes third. Blum recommended Energy Transfer Equity of Dallas in February, at $17.23, on valuation. By August 31 the stock had zipped to $26.89, a gain of 56.1 percent.
Click here to see the All-America Research Team rankings.
See article, “2009 All-America Research Team: A Time To Rebuild”.
