Analyst: Robert Spingarn
Firm: Credit Suisse
Industry: Aerospace-Defense
Rank: 1
Robert Spingarn, aerospace and defense analyst at Credit Suisse (nyse: CS - news - people ), ranks first among all his peers on Wall Street in Forbes.com's 2008 survey of America's best stock analysts. Spingarn earns the award with solid judgment, as measured by our data partner Zacks Investment Research, in both forecasting earnings and picking stocks over a three-year period.
In the latter category, Spingarn benefited especially from bullish calls on BE Aerospace (nasdaq: BEAV - news - people ), Precision Castparts (nyse: PCP - news - people ) and Armor Holdings (nyse: AH - news - people ). From mid-May 2005, when Spingarn put positive ratings on the stocks, through the end of 2007, each clocked triple-digit gains. Click here for more on the methodology underlying our rankings.
Full story at Forbes.com
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Rough Road Ahead For Highway Bill
Washington, D.C. - As we've regularly reported on Forbes.com, the road building lobby in Washington makes a loud and skillful case that federal spending on highways--$41 billion for fiscal 2008--is inadequate and that the nation's infrastructure is facing a crisis.
This week, several hundred industry folks descended on Capitol Hill for their latest lobbying offensive.
"It's a severe situation," said David Bauer, senior vice president for government affairs at the American Road & Transportation Builders Association, Tuesday. "It's probably as severe as [any during] the 11 years that I've been at ARTBA."
Why so severe? One reason is the legislative outlook, as discussed by a panel of Democratic and Republican congressional staffers that ARTBA had summoned for a briefing Tuesday. The consensus among them: reauthorization of the nation's multi-year transportation spending law, enacted in 2005 with a $287 billion price tag, could prove much trickier than the last go round. A new administration and new environmental issues will complicate already contentious issues of funding America's infrastructure.
Full story at Forbes.com
This week, several hundred industry folks descended on Capitol Hill for their latest lobbying offensive.
"It's a severe situation," said David Bauer, senior vice president for government affairs at the American Road & Transportation Builders Association, Tuesday. "It's probably as severe as [any during] the 11 years that I've been at ARTBA."
Why so severe? One reason is the legislative outlook, as discussed by a panel of Democratic and Republican congressional staffers that ARTBA had summoned for a briefing Tuesday. The consensus among them: reauthorization of the nation's multi-year transportation spending law, enacted in 2005 with a $287 billion price tag, could prove much trickier than the last go round. A new administration and new environmental issues will complicate already contentious issues of funding America's infrastructure.
Full story at Forbes.com
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Bears Bellowing In Forbes Stock Contest
If your stock portfolio looks dinged up these days, take heart. The last few months have also been hard on the bulls participating in our annual stock-picking contest. From the end of October 2007 through Wednesday's market close, their 12 long calls are down an average 15%, compared with a 9% drop for the S&P 500.
The bears have done better. So far in the contest, four of their five short-sale ideas are in the red, showing an average price decline of 17%.
Full story at Forbes.com
The bears have done better. So far in the contest, four of their five short-sale ideas are in the red, showing an average price decline of 17%.
Full story at Forbes.com
Monday, May 12, 2008
Forbes Beltway Index: Methodology
Washington, D.C. - The Forbes Beltway Index tracks the market progress of the publicly held companies that figure among the 1,000 largest contractors working for the U.S. federal government.
Each Monday, we update price data for the index, in which we give equal weight to each of the component stocks, which number 202. With an equal-weighted index, all components have the same contribution to the index value. This contrasts with big indexes such as the Standard & Poor's 500, which are weighted toward companies with the largest market capitalizations.
We get our information on government contractors from Eagle Eye Publishers, a 10-person research company in Fairfax, Va. Eagle Eye caters to both commercial and government clients. Among its public sector customers is the Congress.
The U.S. government does around $430 billion in business with contractors each year. Eagle Eye's specialty is analysis of prime contracts, or those that the federal government awards directly to a company.
Full story at Forbes.com
Each Monday, we update price data for the index, in which we give equal weight to each of the component stocks, which number 202. With an equal-weighted index, all components have the same contribution to the index value. This contrasts with big indexes such as the Standard & Poor's 500, which are weighted toward companies with the largest market capitalizations.
We get our information on government contractors from Eagle Eye Publishers, a 10-person research company in Fairfax, Va. Eagle Eye caters to both commercial and government clients. Among its public sector customers is the Congress.
The U.S. government does around $430 billion in business with contractors each year. Eagle Eye's specialty is analysis of prime contracts, or those that the federal government awards directly to a company.
Full story at Forbes.com
Changes To Forbes Beltway Index
Washington, D.C. - Since April 2006, we've presented the Forbes Beltway Index on Forbes.com. This week, we revise and expand the list with a new approach.
Our new methodology, discussed in more detail here, allows us include more government contractors than we did in our prior Beltway Index efforts. Our starting point now is the 1,000 largest contractors to the U.S. federal government for fiscal 2007 (ended September 2007), with information provided to us by research firm Eagle Eye Publishers.
From that group of 1,000 contractors, we identified the publicly traded companies. That narrowed the list down to 202, based on fiscal 2007 data.
Full story at Forbes.com
Our new methodology, discussed in more detail here, allows us include more government contractors than we did in our prior Beltway Index efforts. Our starting point now is the 1,000 largest contractors to the U.S. federal government for fiscal 2007 (ended September 2007), with information provided to us by research firm Eagle Eye Publishers.
From that group of 1,000 contractors, we identified the publicly traded companies. That narrowed the list down to 202, based on fiscal 2007 data.
Full story at Forbes.com
Thursday, May 01, 2008
CEO Pay: Defense Bosses Cash In
Washington, D.C. - As part of our annual survey of chief executive pay at America's 500 biggest companies, we took a closer look at aerospace and defense. For the last few years, the sector has jumped on robust defense budgets and a rebounding commercial aerospace market.
In that time, compensation for the leaders of America's largest aerospace and defense concerns has also ballooned. Take the six in the first of the accompanying tables. Their stocks delivered a 30% annualized total return during the companies' last three fiscal years. By our tally, total compensation for those companies' chief executives increased an average 50% annualized during that period.
In Pictures: Aerospace Pay Flying High
For 2007, the average total compensation among aerospace and defense companies in our annual salary survey was $20.6 million, vs. an average $12.8 million for all 500 companies surveyed. The median figure, or midpoint in the range, for the nine aerospace and defense companies in our survey was $14.6 million, vs. a median of $6.5 million for all 500 chief executives in our print rankings.
Full story at Forbes.com
In that time, compensation for the leaders of America's largest aerospace and defense concerns has also ballooned. Take the six in the first of the accompanying tables. Their stocks delivered a 30% annualized total return during the companies' last three fiscal years. By our tally, total compensation for those companies' chief executives increased an average 50% annualized during that period.
In Pictures: Aerospace Pay Flying High
For 2007, the average total compensation among aerospace and defense companies in our annual salary survey was $20.6 million, vs. an average $12.8 million for all 500 companies surveyed. The median figure, or midpoint in the range, for the nine aerospace and defense companies in our survey was $14.6 million, vs. a median of $6.5 million for all 500 chief executives in our print rankings.
Full story at Forbes.com
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