This year’s Burkenroad Reports Investment Conference provided investors with something they haven't had in a long time: optimism.
“I think the conference brought out a new sense of optimism about the business environment of the region post-Katrina,” says Peter Ricchiuti, who organized the event. “Many attendees were surprised at how well the region’s companies had adjusted in this new environment.”
Now in its 10th year, the conference provides individual and institutional investors with the opportunity to learn more about the regional small- and mid-cap companies followed by the Freeman School’s Burkenroad Reports investment research program. Top management from 36 companies covered by the program gave presentations and answered questions. More than 400 investors as well as several national media representatives attended the conference, which took place on April 28 at the Hilton Riverside Hotel in New Orleans.
“Bank stocks, especially Iberia Bank, attracted particularly large crowds this year,” says Ricchiuti, assistant dean and research director of the program. “Investors are beginning to realize that the banking industry stands to benefit from an influx of deposits and soaring loan demands as a result of Hurricane Katrina.”
Despite the negative effects of Hurricane Katrina, Ricchiuti says the companies followed by the student analysts still performed well. An unweighted index of the stocks covered by the program returned 15.71 percent, marking the seventh consecutive year Burkenroad companies have outperformed the major indexes. Leading the pack this year was Natco Group, a Houston-based provider of equipment, systems and services used in oil and gas production, which posted a one-year return of 169 percent.
In what has become another tradition, Russell Corp., the Alabama-based manufacturer of T-shirts and athletic equipment, became the 18th Burkenroad company to be bought out since the program’s inception. On April 17, Russell Corp. was purchased by Berkshire Hathaway, suggesting that at least one prominent investor concurs with the students’ analysis.
Ricchiuti says that while investors were impressed with the strong performance of the region’s businesses in the wake of Katrina, the conference also helped to drive home the sobering reality of the disaster. Attendees had the chance to meet dozens of students from Dillard University, who are temporarily living in and attending classes at the Hilton while their campus is being rebuilt.
Founded in 1993, Burkenroad Reports puts teams of students to work researching and writing equity analysis reports on small and undervalued companies across the region. From its humble beginnings covering six Louisiana-based “stocks under rocks,” Burkenroad Reports has grown into a nationally acclaimed program with nearly 200 student analysts following 48 companies in six states.
