Repeating in third place, Stephen Kim of Barclays tracks 16 companies and currently favors building products suppliers as “better positioned to benefit from this cyclical recovery” than homebuilders. “New-home prices are too high relative to existing-home prices,” he explains. Accordingly, one name Kim favors is Israel’s Caesarstone Sdot-Yam, a manufacturer of engineered stone surfaces. The analyst launched coverage of its New York–listed shares with an overweight rating in May 2012, deeming them a bargain at $12.38. Through August 2013 they skyrocketed 237.3 percent, to $41.76, easily trumping the sector’s 43.6 percent gain. “Stephen does a terrific job of weaving together high-level macro data, detailed company-level analyses and a trader’s intuition,” marvels one client. Other suppliers Kim recommends include USG Corp., a Chicago-based ceilings and gypsum producer; and Toledo, Ohio–based building materials provider Owens Corning. — Ben Mattlin |
The 2013 All-America Research Team: Homebuilders & Building Products, No. 3: Stephen Kim