Eamonn Hughes & team
Goodbody Stockbrokers
Capturing second place for a fourth year running is the Eamonn Hughes–captained crew at Dublin’s Goodbody Stockbrokers. Two people joined the team last year, bringing its total membership to 13, and the group has been growing in other ways as well. “We cover 48 companies, and that is up nine from last year,” Hughes says. “That will grow further in 2013.” The analysts are bullish on Irish mid- and large-cap companies that can “exert pricing power or restrict capacity,” he says, are trading at discounts to their historical ranges while delivering positive returns, and pay dividends. Examples include discount air carrier Ryanair Holdings, which is headquartered in Dublin, and U.K.-based building-materials supplier SIG and bookmaker William Hill. The Goodbody analysts “are very diligent, with great judgment and insights and good calls during the year,” affirms one buy-side backer. — Paul Sweeney