second team Gary Balter Credit Suisse
third team Matthew Fassler Goldman Sachs
One portfolio manager insists that “nothing slips through the cracks” with Colin McGranahan, the Sanford C. Bernstein analyst now in his third consecutive year at No. 1. McGranahan, 39, highlighted his bullish stance on Bed, Bath & Beyond in November, at $22.20, telling clients that the Union, New Jersey–based home furnishings chain stood to gain market share and stronger earnings following the previous month’s liquidation of former competitor Linens ’n Things of Clifton, New Jersey. Shares of Bed, Bath & Beyond advanced a very cozy 64.3 percent, to $36.48, and outpaced the broad market by 52.3 percentage points, through August.
Gary Balter of Credit Suisse holds steady in second place, for a third year in a row. Balter told investors to buy O’Reilly Automotive in February, at $27.72, after the Springfield, Missouri–based auto parts retailer announced plans to acquire CKS Auto Corp. of Phoenix. O’Reilly’s stock had raced ahead 38.1 percent, to $38.28, by late August. One fund manager considers Balter “among the most thoughtful strategic business thinkers not only covering retail but, in my opinion, on the sell side.”
In third place for a third straight year is Matthew Fassler of Goldman Sachs, described by one appreciative client as “one of the few analysts who will actually put a stake in the ground and make a call before a stock moves.” Fassler recommended OfficeMax in April, at $4.52, holding that the Naperville, Illinois–based office supply company would benefit from consolidation in its sector. The stock had skyrocketed an eye-popping 150.2 percent, to $11.31, by the end of August.
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