< The 2014 All-America Research TeamJonathan WolffISI GroupFirst-place appearances: 0

Total appearances: 1

Team debut: 2014Debuting in second place is ISI Group’s Jonathan Wolff, who also merits a second straight runner-up finish in Oil & Gas Exploration & Production. The researcher’s “broad understanding of so much of the exploration and production sector helps his overview of the entire natural-gas business,” observes one buy-side backer. An expected slowdown in U.S. supply growth by the end of the decade coupled with an anticipated rise in demand — owing to expanded U.S. natural-gas liquefaction capabilities, new green field petrochemicals facilities along the Gulf Coast and a significant transition from coal to gas — keeps Wolff highly constructive on domestic natural-gas markets. At the same time, he still believes that the U.S. is “in the early innings of a major energy infrastructure investment cycle, driven by the changing supply and demand dynamics and associated logistical constraints.” For instance, the existing pipeline infrastructure out of the southwestern part of the Marcellus-Utica region facilitates easier gas evacuation for producers at more favorable transportation costs than that available in the shales’ northeast, where a new, higher-cost green field pipeline is needed, he says. Thus, the analyst favors names with exposure to that northeastern infrastructure development, such as Williams Cos. The Tulsa, Oklahoma–based operator owns “a massive and highly strategic asset,” he notes: the largest U.S. natural-gas pipeline and the only one that runs along the Eastern Seaboard. Moreover, adds Wolff, “we believe the company will continue to secure additional growth projects, which should ultimately feed through to investors via accelerated dividend growth.”