SECOND TEAM Michael Rehaut  J.P. Morgan

Michael Rehaut “knows what he’s talking about, and he’s an independent thinker,” says one portfolio manager. “I always want to hear more than one side, and he brings me a different perspective.” That unique view helps the J.P. Morgan analyst claim the No. 2 spot for a second consecutive year. In January, Rehaut highlighted his underweight rating on MDC Holdings — originally downgraded from overweight in September 2009 — on the Denver-based outfit’s below-average gross margins and “solidly negative” earnings per share. Last October the company reported a year-over-year net loss of $10.2 million, or 22 cents per share, for third-quarter 2010; in February, MDC reported a fourth-quarter net loss of 65 cents per share and a full-year 2010 loss of $1.40 per share. By late August the stock had plunged 32.1 percent since Rehaut’s reiteration, from $28.81 to $19.56; that was in line with the sector’s decline and well behind the 4.2 percent loss by the broad market.