< The 2014 All-America Research Team

Total Appearances: 6

Analyst Debut: 2009Morgan Stanley’s William Greene Jr. extends his run in first place on this roster to a third year, impressing clients as “a strong stock picker who adds value with exceptional deep-dive research,” in the words of one fund manager. In covering 27 sector players, the 45-year-old analyst “is persistent, markets a lot, picks structural winners and backs them up with lots of empirical data,” adds a second booster. Two long-standing favorites are among Greene’s top picks going forward: Union Pacific Corp. of Omaha, Nebraska, which operates freight train lines; and Thomasville, North Carolina–based Old Dominion Freight Line, a less-than-truckload shipper. He has recommended overweighting Union Pacific since May 2007, at a split-adjusted $25.32, crediting robust pricing, productivity gains and potential volume improvements. Since October 2011, he has been similarly bullish on Old Dominion, thanks to accelerated volume growth; the stock was then changing hands at $20.32. Both equities have indeed outperformed. Over the 12 months through mid-September alone, Union Pacific’s stock jumped 41 percent, to $107.04, while Old Dominion’s leaped 51.5 percent, to $69.87. During the same period the sector rose 18.4 percent. “Bill’s views are always well thought out and come with a high degree of conviction,” declares another asset manager.