Barry Dixon & team Davy
second team Eamonn Hughes & team Goodbody
In first place for a second straight year — and for the seventh time in nine years — is Davy’s Barry Dixon and his team of 20, described by one money manager as “the premier stockbroking firm in Ireland.” Dixon, 42, and his Dublin-based cohorts upgraded Paddy Power to outperform in May, at €15.98, arguing that its acquisition of a controlling stake in Australian online and telephone bookmaker Sportsbet for €27.2 million was “a nice strategic fit.” The stock had vaulted to €24.75 by the end of the year, a remarkable 54.9 percent rise that outpaced Ireland’s broad market by 50.2 percentage points. Unranked last year, the 13-member Goodbody Stockbrokers squad led by newcomer Eamonn Hughes comes in at No. 2. “Their analysts are seasoned, they know management inside out, and they have a good feel for dynamics of the market,” proclaims one faithful buy-sider. Clients praise the analysts’ December 2008 buy on containerboard manufacturer Smurfit Kappa, at €1.66, on rising global demand. The shares catapulted a head-spinning 273.5 percent, to €6.20, through December 2009. No firm garnered sufficient support to merit publication of a third team.
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