Sterne, Agee & Leach, a Birmingham, Ala.-based brokerage, is planning to add an oilfield services analyst and a retail analyst to its roster of 12. The oilfield analyst would replace Robert Ford, who left the company last month. David Lee, director of equity product, declined to say why Ford left. Ford could not be reached for comment. Curtis Trimble is the sole energy analyst.
In retail, Sterne is creating a new position. “The consumer sector is growing, so we want to expand our coverage to keep up with demand,” Lee said. Sterne already has two analysts covering multi-line, specialty and luxury retail. Other areas of coverage include healthcare, technology and financial institutions.