< The 2014 All-America Research TeamDara MohsenianMorgan StanleyFirst-Place Appearances: 0
Total Appearances: 3
Analyst Debut: 2012At No. 3 on this roster and in Beverages is Dara Mohsenian, who earned runner-up positions in both categories the past two years. The Morgan Stanley researcher “has the ability to identify when investors become too concerned with an issue, or conversely, can identify when investors are getting complacent in stocks,” marvels one portfolio manager. Mohsenian was calling out money managers that were guilty of the former in a June note upgrading Newell Rubbermaid from equal weight to overweight. The Atlanta-based consumer products giant — whose brands include Goody, Paper Mate, Rubbermaid Commercial Products and Sharpie — was facing only a temporary slip, he reasoned, when a child-seat recall at the company’s Graco Children’s Products unit in February and March, combined with other factors, led to a weak first quarter. He added that strong growth in Latin America, increased advertising and improving macroeconomic factors would improve prospects for the rest of the year — and so far, so good. Newell delivered strong second-quarter performance, posting a 37.2 percent year-over-year rise in net income, to $150.6 million, on sales that increased 3.1 percent, to $1.52 billion. Earnings per share were 54 cents, 45.9 percent higher than for the year-earlier period. The stock has followed suit, climbing 19.4 percent, to close at $34.43 in mid-September, and besting the sector by 18.1 percentage points.
RUNNER(S)-UP
John Faucher
J.P. Morgan
Lauren Lieberman
Barclays
Sunil (Nik) Modi
RBC Capital Markets
Wendy Nicholson
Citi