7/26/2007

The Best Analysts - Earnings Estimators
#2 Alton Stump
05.01.07, 12:00 PM ET

# 2* among Earnings Estimators
in Beverages

Firm: Longbow Research

Companies Covered:
Hansen Natural *****, Pepsi Bottling Group ****, Coca-Cola Enterprises ****, Jones Soda, Pepsiamericas, National Beverage

StarMine Top Analysts
Forbes.com/StarMine Best Analysts
John J. Ray, 05.01.07, 12:00 PM ET

Wall Street has 3,400 sell-side analysts covering U.S. stocks. Consensus earnings projections aggregate this mountain of research and provide useful insight when making investment decisions. Unfortunately, earnings forecasts that are simply an average of estimates from all the analysts tracking a given stock often reflect a "herd" mentality. According to StarMine, consensus earnings forecasts are accurate to the penny only a small fraction of the time.

The Forbes.com/StarMine rankings of the Best Security Analysts in America offer a different perspective on earnings forecasts. We identify the men and women who have proved their mettle for accurately forecasting earnings or for advising investors on when to buy, sell or hold.