| Rising from runner-up to third place is Andrew Obin, who covers 22 stocks for Bank of America Merrill Lynch. The analyst is “a thought leader who looks under stones his peers don’t even see,” according to one investor. Obin launched coverage on Canton, Ohio’s Timken Co. in June 2009 with a buy, at $16.07, primarily on valuation. In June 2012, after the ball-bearing producer’s shares had shot up an eye-popping 184.4 percent, to $45.70, he broke with the herd and downgraded the stock to neutral, citing weak order flow from Europe. The stock dipped to $40.16 in late August. “Andrew doesn’t shy from taking a contrarian stance,” proclaims one ally. RUNNER(S)-UP Jamie Cook Andrew Kaplowitz Stephen Volkmann |
