Thomas Driscoll  Barclays Capital The buy side says: “Tom’s detailed models are important for my analysis.”

Thomas Driscoll, 56, rises one notch to capture the top spot for the first time since 1995. The ­Barclays Capital analyst, valued by one money manager for his “great insights” and “direct manner,” downgraded ­Southwestern Energy Co. from overweight to equal weight in July 2010, at $38.83, on the premise that continued weak ­natural-gas prices would lead to disappointing growth for the Houston-­based company. In July 2011 the company reported that year-over-year net income in the second quarter fell 20.3 percent, to $137 million, and attributed the decrease in earnings to a decline in ­natural-gas prices. In early ­August, after the shares had slipped 6.2 percent, to $36.44 — as the Philadelphia Stock Exchange exploration and production index climbed 25.4 percent — Driscoll upgraded them to overweight, on valuation. By the end of that month, the stock had zipped to $37.95, for a gain of 4.1 percent that beat the index by 1.1 percentage points.