The 2014 All-Europe Research Team: France, No. 2: Pierre Boucheny & team

Kepler Cheuvreux’s 20-analyst group in Paris seizes second place, directed by newcomerPierre Boucheny. Last year, Crédit Agricole Cheuvreux’s crew was No. 3. The reconfigured team that resulted from Cheuvreux’s May sale to Kepler Capital Markets covers 140 French equities. Boucheny replaces previous leader Arnaud Joly, who departed for Société Générale before the merger closed. The researchers deliver “good on-the-ground coverage that beats the global banks,” one fund manager insists, because they “know their companies inside-out and give you a lot closer look.” Among stocks on the squad’s early December selected list, Paris-based industrial conglomerate Lafarge offers perhaps the most upside as its struggling end markets recover, Boucheny says. In addition, management’s financial cost reductions could significantly boost cash flow. The world’s largest cement manufacturer is pursuing an agenda to slash net debt, renegotiate expensive debt overhang and regain the investment-grade credit rating it lost in 2011. These efforts, in combination with a focus on innovation, are intended to drive earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization €1.1 billion ($1.5 billion) higher by 2016. For the first nine months of 2013, ebitda was €2.3 billion. Lafarge’s shares changed hands at €54.47 late in December; the team maintains a target price of €63.