< The 2015 All-America Research Team
Jason Goldberg
Barclays
First-place appearances: 0
Total appearances: 12
Analyst debut: 2004
A runner-up the past two years, Barclays analyst Jason Goldberg returns to the No. 3 spot he captured in 2010 through 2012. “Jason has done a great job over the years covering this space,” one portfolio manager affirms. “He has timely insights on industry issues, of which there are many these days.” Among the subjects currently of concern to America’s large-cap banks is their exposure to interest rate changes. Should the Federal Reserve increase its benchmark lending rate, as expected, “it will likely add to earnings and valuations,” says Goldberg, 42. In addition, the regulatory environment is “becoming more defined,” he notes, with respect to the buffers required of global systemically important banks and the Federal Reserve’s Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review of bank holding companies’ processes for allocating and managing their capital resources. To that end, the researcher is constructive on the group, overall, and especially favors New York–based JPMorgan Chase & Co., deeming it the “best in class across most of the businesses it chooses to compete in.” Moreover, he notes, the firm “continues to grow, take share and leverage its economies of scale.” His price objective of $79 represents a 29.6 percent premium to the stock’s value in mid-September.