Thomas Driscoll Barclays Capital

Thomas Driscoll repeats in second place. The Barclays Capital analyst “cuts to the root of a problem lightning-fast, pushing away extraneous data to get at the key factors that affect results,” in the words of one investor. Driscoll upgraded Houston-based Newfield Exploration Co. from neutral to outperform in December, at $41.18, citing increased optimism about the oil-and-gas company’s near-term growth prospects. By the end of August, the stock had advanced 16.6 percent, to $48.01, and sailed past the sector by 16.1 percentage points.