Energy: Natural Gas 2007

LWilson

Ronald Barone

First TeamRonald Barone

UBS

Second Team

Faisel Khan, Citi

Third Team

Richard Gross, Lehman

Atop the highest rung of the ladder, up one rung from last year, Ronald Barone, 64, has “a vast range of coverage that allows him to compare utilities across sectors,” explains one buy-sider. Clients continue to praise Barone’s consistent coverage of two companies undergoing management restructuring and turnaround efforts: the Williams Cos., a Tulsa, Oklahoma–based exploration and production company first recommended in March 2005, and Houston-based energy producer El Paso Corp., first recommended in May 2005. For the 12 months ended mid-September, the stocks had shot up 46.6 and 25.3 percent, respectively. Over the same period the sector advanced 23.4 percent. Faisel Khan, who advances from runner-up to second, is “the most proactive in calling accounts” and is a good stock picker, according to one investor. The Citi analyst named San Diego–based distributor Sempra Energy and Oneok Partners, a Tulsa, Oklahoma–based liquefied-natural-gas distributor, among his top picks of the past year, citing effective management restructurings. For the 12 months ended mid-September, the stocks were up 17.6 and 16.6 percent, respectively. Repeating in third, Richard Gross of Lehman Brothers “is a walking library on the natural-gas sector,” raves one buy-sider. Gross discovered an overlooked gem in Cheniere Energy, a Houston-based pipeline developer. Recommended last November, at $25.16, the shares surged 59.0 percent, to $40.00, by mid-September.