Forbes.com ranks Stephens analysts among the best

Arkansas Business, May 16, 2005 by Lance Turner

Forbes.com last week released its 2004 ranking of Wall Street's "best brokerage analysts," which included analysts for Stephens Inc.

The list, compiled by Forbes.com and StarMine, ranked the top stock pickers and earnings estimators in respective coverage areas based on earnings forecasts and recommendations in 2004.

Analysts Eric Hugel, Thomas Albrecht, Todd Cooper and Dan Moore made the list. Of those, only Moore is no longer with Stephens.

Hugel, a certified public accountant, ranked first among analysts for earnings estimate accuracy in aerospace and defense. Hugel is a vice president with Stephens. Albrecht ranked first for stock picking in the road and rail sector. He is a managing director at Stephens, where he helps lead the transportation equity research team, focusing on truckload, less-than-truckload and transport suppliers.

Cooper was ranked second among earnings estimators in electrical equipment. Cooper is a managing director, overseeing power electronics research.

Moore ranked third among earnings estimators in road and rail. Moore, who covered the transportation industry for Stephens, left the company in 2004 to join Morgan Keegan, but Morgan Keegan spokeswoman Kathy Ridley confirmed that Moore resigned on May 2. Moore could not be reached for comment last week.

At the time of Moore's departure from Stephens, he and another analyst who also left for Morgan Keegan, Chaz Gregory Jones, were accused of taking company documents and records with them. Stephens got an injunction against the men requiring them to return any confidential information they had. Moore and Jones agreed to do so.

Jones is still employed by Morgan Keegan.

Stephens' research department has 25 analysts and 18 associate analysts who cover more than 200 stocks.