(July 28 – 15:00 ET) – Canadian analysts barely rated a mention when the Wall Street Journal announcd its All-Star Analysts lineup for 2000 earlier this week.
The Wall Street Journal ranks analysts every way from Sunday, awarding kudos for stock
picking ability and earnings forecast accuracy based on data from First Call Corp. Merrill Lynch took top spot for the fourth straight year, followed closely by Salomon Smith Barney with Goldman Sachs placing a distant third.
The highest ranking Canadian firm, CIBC World Markets, came in 17th. However, it was singled out for its notable plunge from eighth place on last year’s list. The only other Canadian firm to rate was BMO Nesbitt Burns, which came in 42nd.
BMO precious metals analyst Geoff Stanley was singled out as the top stock picker in his sector, while CIBC World Markets’ oil analyst William Hyler was named as the top stock picker in the oil group. Hyler was also inducted into the WSJ Hall of Fame for receiving recognition in six straight years or any seven years.
BMO mining analyst Victor Lazarovici was ranked as the second-best stock picker in his niche, and Toronto-based gold analyst Egizio Bianchini was rated No. 3 on the precious metals beat, the category won by fellow BMOer Stanley.
“It’s like a hockey team with two star players,” Bianchini said. “They might compete to see who can get the most goals, but the main objective is to win games.”
CIBC airline analyst Julius Maldutis was the only other one at a Canadian-based firm to get a mention.
The WSJ says a recent study by Hemang Desai, assistant professor of accounting at Southern Methodist University’s Cox School of Business, found that stocks recommended by the winners in WSJ ranking have outperformed industry benchmarks by 4.02% after one year and 6.04% after two years.
That’s “pretty substantial,” said Desai. “We would conclude from this that these people know what they are talking about.”
-IE Staff