The 2013 All-America Research Team: Machinery, No. 2: Ann Duignan

J.P. Morgan researcherAnn Duignannotches her seventh consecutive second-place finish. She tracks 22 names, an increase of two from a year ago, and recommends overweighting Oshkosh Corp. Its exposure to rising U.S. construction — the source of “roughly 53 percent of revenues,” she explains, “as the company’s defense business tapers off” — is among the reasons she favors the Oshkosh, Wisconsin–based manufacturer of heavy-duty trucks. She upgraded the stock from neutral in January 2012 on valuation, at $22.42, and through August 2013 it more than doubled, to $44.92, and trounced its peers by a remarkable 81.3 percentage points. Duignan is also optimistic about the prospects for Navistar International Corp., which she upgraded from neutral to overweight in March, at $31.89, partly on new management’s cost reductions. As of late August the Lisle, Illinois–based truck maker’s shares had climbed 7.5 percent, to $34.27, eclipsing the sector by 5.6 percentage points. “Ann doesn’t follow the herd. Her industry knowledge is excellent, and her ratings are well reasoned,” affirms one asset manager. —Ben Mattlin