| Charles Grom rockets to the top after having fallen from the roster last year; he is also a runner-up in Retailing/Food & Drug Chains. The 38-year-old joined Deutsche Bank Securities in July 2011 after covering retailers for nine years at J.P. Morgan; he earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and accounting at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. “It’s paramount to be aligned with retailers that have structurally stronger business models and/or those that operate with favorable sector tailwinds,” he contends. Dollar General Corp. is one such company. Grom upgraded the Goodlettsville, Tennessee–based chain from hold to buy in December, at $39.47, citing increases in store traffic, square footage and sales. Through August the stock rang up a gain of 29.4 percent, closing at $51.07. Grom’s research “has always been rooted in frequent store checks, which enable him to catch meaningful inflection points that other analysts often miss,” applauds one fan. |
Consumer – Retailing/Broadlines & Department Stores: First
October 16, 2012
