< The 2014 All-America Research TeamKimberly GreenbergerMorgan StanleyFirst-place appearances: 0
Total appearances: 12
Team debut: 2003In second place on this lineup is Kimberly Greenberger, who extends her claim on this position to an eighth straight year and earns her first No. 2 finish in Retailing/Broadlines & Department Stores. The Morgan Stanley researcher’s “great attention to detail and modeling” wins praise from one portfolio manager, who adds that “she is an analyst who can help make you money.” Specialty retailers eked out a 2.7 percent gain year to date through mid-September, against the broad market’s 7.3 percent advance, and Greenberger finds litte cause for enthusiasm on the names. One exception, in her view, is Hong Kong–based affordable-luxury lifestyle brand Michael Kors Holdings, whose category diversity and international growth she contends will situate it ahead of its peers. Greenberger expects the company to deliver roughly 20 percent earnings-per-share annual growth over the next three years. She has been recommending that investors buy Michael Kors since January 2012; through the middle of last month, the shares rocketed 157.4 percent, $76.61.