THIRD TEAM Garrett Chase Barclays Capital
Garrett Chase of Barclays Capital finishes in third place for a fourth straight year. “I liked him best for his industry pieces and company reports and the way he breaks down key profit drivers,” explains one portfolio manager. Case in point: Chase published “The New Fuel Reality and Its Implications for Airline Equities” on Valentine’s Day; the report examined the volatility of fuel costs and how it affects revenues, profitability and valuations. In May the analyst downgraded Southwest Airlines Co. from hold to sell, at $12.13, on the belief that expected synergies from the Dallas-based carrier’s just-completed acquisition of AirTran Holdings, operator of AirTran Airways, a low-cost airline headquartered in Orlando, Florida, were unlikely to develop. The stock tumbled 28.9 percent, to $8.62, in line with the sector’s loss of 29.7 percent, through August.