Energy: Oil Services & Equipment 2007

James Crandell

First TeamJames Crandell

Lehman

Second Team

Ole Slorer, Morgan Stanley

Third Team

Geoffrey Kieburtz, Citi

Runners-Up

Michael LaMotte, JPMorgan; Robin Shoemaker, Bear Stearns; Kenneth Sill, Credit Suisse

Repeat first-teamer James Crandell, 54, has “great relationships with key companies, which give him strong insights and access.” In August, for the first time since joining Lehman Brothers in 1998, Crandell recommended Baker Hughes, believing that management would aggressively expand and build a strong franchise in Asia. By mid-September shares of the Houston-based drilling equipment maker had jumped 14.8 percent. Rising from runner-up to second, Morgan Stanley’s Ole Slorer provides “detailed reports that are full of data,” says one money manager. In June 2006 he recommended Smith International, at $36.86, citing the growth potential of the Houston-based engineering-services provider. By mid-September 2007 the shares had gushed to $67.50, an increase of 83.1 percent. During the same period the sector rose 48.5 percent. Citi’s Geoffrey Kieburtz, in third, provides “more in-depth research than his peers,” according to one client. One of his top picks for the year, Houston’s National Oilwell Varco, was up 118.4 percent through mid-September.