The buy side says: “Matthew’s work is accurate and relevant.”
Matthew O’Connor of Deutsche Bank Securities marks his third straight appearance at No. 1, thanks in part to “good calls on regional banks early in the year - a very out-of-favor group at the time, but he was one of the few people who was pounding the table on them,” recalls one money manager. One example: O’Connor’s upgrade of BB&T Corp. from hold to buy in mid-December, at $25.42, on the premise that the Winston-Salem, North Carolina-based holding company for the regional Branch Banking and Trust Co. was undervalued, primarily on overblown concerns about its potential real estate losses. In May, after the stock had rallied 33.2 percent, to $33.86, and beat the sector by 9.1 percentage points, the 35-year-old analyst downgraded it back to hold, on valuation. By late August it had tumbled to $22.12. Grateful clients also point to daily voice mails and periodic happy hour get-togethers for providing an extra degree of customer service. “I placed only one vote this year, and it was for Matt,” confides one of his buy-side counterparts. Adds another: “Matt seems to have a deep knowledge and understanding of both fundamentals and valuation in the industry, whereas most other analysts seem to have only one or the other - or neither.”
