Edward Wolfe
Wolfe Trahan & Co.
 In third place for a second straight year is Edward Wolfe, who debuted on the All-America Research Team back in 1999 and has appeared every year since. The Wolfe Trahan & Co. analyst is known for his “uncanny knowledge of historical trends, which enables him to provide helpful background and context,” according to one devotee. Wolfe has ratings on 35 stocks and keeps his eye on another 15. He upgraded RailAmerica from peer perform to outperform in February, at $15.20, because of the Jacksonville, Florida–based regional freight railroad’s rising earnings and successful balance sheet deleveraging. In late July Greenwich, Connecticut–based rival Genesee & Wyoming announced that it would acquire RailAmerica for $1.39 billion in cash. (The deal, which must be approved by regulators, could close as early as this quarter.) By the end of August, RailAmerica’s stock had raced ahead 80.3 percent, to $27.40, and shot past the sector by 86.6 percentage points. Looking ahead, Wolfe is bullish on Memphis, Tennessee–based courier FedEx Corp., partly on its exposure to fast-growing markets in Asia.