From the Wall Street Journal:
With demand for commodities surging in developing countries last year, Scott Burk knew where to place his bets: on shippers of grain, iron ore and other dry-bulk cargo.
The Bear Stearns Cos. analyst's ratings on dry-bulk shipping companies helped make him this year's No. 1 stock picker in the industrial transportation group. Mr. Burk, 38 years old, maintained a buy rating all year on Eagle Bulk Shipping (2) Inc., a U.S. company that owns dry-bulk vessels, for a 66% return.
"You've had a lot of demand growth and relatively small supply growth [in numbers of ships], so there was a nice supply-demand balance," he says.
He put a buy rating on Quintana Maritime Ltd., another dry-bulk shipping company, in late May, earning a 59% return through the end of the year.
For 2008, he expects dry-bulk companies to continue to perform well. His top picks for this year are Genco Shipping & Trading (2) Ltd., which he rated a buy last November, and Diana Shipping (2) Inc., which he upgraded to buy from hold in September....MORE
