Steven Kent Goldman, Sachs & Co.

Repeating at No. 2 is Steven Kent of Goldman, Sachs & Co. “If I’m looking for an idea, I always see what he’s published — he’s in a class of his own,” applauds one buy-side fan. Kent upgraded Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide from sell all the way to buy in May 2009, at $23.42, and highlighted the call repeatedly since, citing rising demand for accommodations and the White Plains, New York–based outfit’s improving margins. The stock had skyrocketed 99.5 percent, to $46.73, by late August 2010. Another winner: Kent’s valuation-driven downgrade to neutral on Wyndham Worldwide Corp. of Parsippany, New Jersey, in March, after the stock had jumped 53.3 percent since the previous October. By the end of August, the stock had slipped 5.3 percent, from $24.50 to $23.19.