< The 2015 All-Europe Research Team
Andrew Wood
Sanford C. Bernstein
First-Place Appearances: 11
Total Appearances: 12
Team Debut: 2004
Sanford C. Bernstein continues to rule this space. The firm earns first place for the 11th time since its 2004 debut, including its current streak of six consecutive No. 1 finishes, which matches its performance this year on the Household & Personal Care Products lineup. Andrew Wood has directed Bernstein’s coverage of both sectors for all of its appearance here. The 50-year-old analyst, who is based in Singapore and now works solo, wins client praise for the global scope of his networking and outlook — and he boasts the “best connections to company managements,” one fan insists. For his part, Wood is optimistic about Europe’s food producers for the first time in about two years, thanks to the steadily accelerating organic growth the group has been posting since early 2014. The shares outpaced the broader regional market by 6.6 percentage points over the 12 months through January, climbing 14.6 percent. During the year-earlier period, they lagged the wider market by 7.3 percentage points, posting a 2.2 percent gain. “We should see low-double-digit earnings growth from the group in 2015,” he predicts. “This, coupled with healthy dividend payouts, should lead to strong total shareholder return for the group, assuming no significant derating.” Among his favorite names is Swiss food and beverages producer Nestlé, which Wood bumped from neutral to buy in April. The company’s operating performance had rallied substantially, he advised, with significant improvements in top-line growth, margin expansion, cash generation and management quality. Indeed, Nestlé’s share price sweetened 10.5 percent since his call, to close January at Sfr71.