Basic Materials – Chemicals: Third

Taking third place for a third consecutive year is Robert Koort of Goldman, Sachs & Co.


Robert Koort
Goldman, Sachs & Co.

Taking third place for a third consecutive year, Robert Koort is known for being “unafraid to really get behind his stock picks and market them better than anyone else — which investors appreciate,” declares one supporter. In January the Houston-based Goldman, Sachs & Co. researcher upgraded Westlake Chemical Corp. from neutral to buy, at $53.59, predicting that profits would rise as the price of ethane, one of the Houston-based petrochemicals producer’s key raw materials, fell. He was right. In August the company reported second-quarter diluted earnings per share of $1.72 — well above consensus EPS estimates of $1.41 — and record quarterly profit of $115.5 million, a year-over-year spike of 42.5 percent. By the end of August, Westlake’s stock had jumped 28.3 percent, to $68.78, and bested the broad market by 19.2 percentage points. Koort, who tracks 21 stocks, continues to rate it a buy.

RUNNER(S)-UP

Laurence Alexander
Jefferies & Co.

Vincent Andrews III
Morgan Stanley

David Begleiter
Deutsche Bank Securities

Kevin McCarthy
Bank of America Merrill Lynch

John McNulty
Credit Suisse

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