In third place for three years in a row is Steven Fisher of UBS. Tracking 14 stocks in this sector, he has a bullish outlook overall through 2015, “driven by North American energy infrastructure opportunities,” he says. Fisher favors Chicago Bridge & Iron Co., citing in part the Netherlands-based engineering behemoth’s exposure to energy markets via its February acquisition of Louisiana rival Shaw Group. He also expects the company’s legacy businesses to continue generating free cash flow and pay down debt. The analyst has had a buy on Chicago Bridge’s New York–listed shares since initiating coverage in August 2011, at $32.53. Three years later they were up 85.6 percent, to $59.83 — rocketing 64.1 percent in the 12 months through August, alone. “He’s one of the more thoughtful analysts, always crunching industry data to compare companies,” asserts one money manager. — Ben Mattlin |
The 2013 All-America Research Team: Engineering & Construction, No. 3: Steven Fisher