| Ronald Barone has spent more than half his life on the All-America Research Team. The 69-year-old has appeared 40 times in the 38 years since 1975. (In 1994 and 1997 he ranked in two sectors.) This year he climbs one notch to claim first place for an eighth time. “The best days for this industry now are ahead of it,” the UBS analyst proclaims, citing rising consumption on the back of increased unconventional supply from technological advances in drilling. “Natural gas is going to result in a rebirth of the U.S. industrial base,” he predicts, adding that with gas prices at historic lows, gas-fired plants are being run for longer periods of time — and growth is set to accelerate starting in 2014 as new facilities announced by petrochemicals companies, the largest industrial consumers of natural gas, are constructed and come on line. “We’re seeing the petrochemicals industry come back to the U.S.,” Barone says. “You’re going to see a rebirth of the steel industry and ultimately — though it’s from a very, very low base — you’re going to see a lot more natural-gas vehicles.” His current recommendations include EQT Corp. of Pittsburgh; National Fuel Gas Co. of Williamsville, New York; and Tulsa, Oklahoma–based Williams Cos. |
Energy – Natural Gas: First
October 16, 2012
