Energy - Oil & Gas Exploration & Production: First

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.

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