Fernando Ferreira Bank of America Merrill Lynch First-place appearances: 0
Total appearances: 1
Team debut: 2014 Coverage of Brazil’s food and beverages companies is carved out of the former Consumer Goods category for the first time this year, and capturing second place on this new roster is Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Fernando Ferreira. His current favorites in the group include São Paulo–headquartered food processor BRF and meat processor Minerva. “Beyond the positive sector fundamentals, we see an acceleration of the turnaround process within [BRF],” explains Ferreira, “which should lead into higher margins in coming years and support the stock’s valuation and share price.” BRF closed at 55.50 reais late in July, and he projects a rise to 58 reais. Minerva he has urged investors to buy since mid-July 2013, believing that the shares are attractively valued and that the positive cattle cycle story in Brazil is not over. By the end of July 2014, the stock had leaped 30.1 percent, to 11.54 reais, while the sector was flat. This year, São Paulo–based Ferreira also captures the No. 3 position in Agribusiness.