< The 2014 All-America Research TeamMatthew O’ConnorDeutsche Bank SecuritiesFirst-place appearances: 6
Total appearances: 7
Team debut: 2008Although Matthew O’Connor of Deutsche Bank Securities slips to second place after a run of six years on top, he continues to win praise for his client service, in particular. “Matt has good corporate access and is always willing to take a call to go through a name,” one loyalist attests. Taking a broad view, O’Connor is positive on large-cap U.S. banks, which advanced 8.8 percent year to date through mid-September, eclipsing the broad market by 1.5 percentage points. “The industry’s key drivers are mostly macroeconomic: loan growth, prospects for rising interest rates and the legal-regulatory landscape,” says the analyst. One favorite in the group is Bank of America Corp. He upgraded the Charlotte, North Carolina–based financial services provider from hold to buy in early July, advising that it is “well-levered to a potential pickup in capital markets revenues, higher interest rates and an improving U.S. economy.” Two and a half months later, BofA’s shares had climbed 7.7 percent, to $16.74, and led the sector by 5 percentage points. He forecasts a rise to $18. Another top pick is New York–based bank holding company Goldman Sachs Group, which O’Connor deems poised to deliver a strong performance in the second half of 2014, given its robust investment banking pipeline and low comparisons versus a year ago in its fixed-income trading business. In the superregional space he touts M&T Bank Corp. of Buffalo, New York. Underpinning his confidence are the meaningful decline in M&T’s stand-alone costs once regulatory issues are behind it, a boost of confidence from the anticipated closing of its deal to buy New Jersey thrift Hudson City Bancorp and earnings-per-share accretion from the acquisition that isn’t fully reflected in 2015 estimates.