Independence is prized as investors reward prescient analysts in this year’s annual ranking of the Top U.S. Equity Research Analysts. Ivy Zelman of Cleveland-based Zelman & Associates, for the third consecutive year is No. 1 in the Homebuilders & Building Products sector. She is one of two independent analysts this year to claim the No. spot in their sectors. The other, Edward Wolfe, has been a first-timer for six straight years in the Air-freight & Surface Transportation sector.