MEMPHIS, Tenn., May 22, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- The Wall Street Journal has named three analysts from FTN Midwest Securities Corp. in the Best on the Street ranking of analysts based on their stock-picking ability in 2006. FTN Midwest Securities analyst Chuck Cerankosky was the top stock-picker in the food and drug retailers category. In the category of bank stock-pickers, fellow FTN Midwest Securities analysts Jeff Davis ranked second and Mark Muth ranked fourth. FTN Midwest Securities is part of First Horizon National Corp. (NYSE:FHN) and a division of the corporation's FTN Financial Group.
The ratings appeared in the May 21 edition of The Wall Street Journal.
"We are very proud of our equity research team. These objective rankings reaffirm our commitment to providing high quality research," said Mark Medford, president and CEO of FTN Financial.
Jeff Davis is managing director of FTN Midwest Securities Corp. and director of research for the financial institutions group, which covers approximately 165 stocks. He was named the number five overall estimator by Forbes.com/StarMine and the number one estimator in the commercial banks industry for 2005. He is widely quoted in the press and is a regular speaker at industry gatherings. He is a member of the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts and holds the CFA designation.
Muth joined FTN Midwest in November 2001 as a research associate covering the bank and thrift sector. In January 2003, Muth was named senior research analyst covering small cap banks and thrifts in the South and Mid-Atlantic. He is frequently quoted as an industry expert in regional publications.
Cerankosky joined FTN Midwest in July 2006 as a senior research analyst covering the food and drug retail sector. He has been selected as an Institutional Investor All-American among regional firms, and this is his fourth appearance in The Wall Street Journal's Best on the Street. Forbes.com/StarMine recognized Cerankosky as the number one earnings estimator and number two stock-picker in the food and staples retailing sector for 2005. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a member of the Association for Investment Management and Research.
About FTN Midwest Securities
FTN Midwest Securities Corp. is a member NASD/SIPC www.sipc.org, and provides depository and non-depository clients with equity research and investment banking services including capital planning and securities offerings, mergers and acquisition advisory and valuations and fairness opinions. In December 2005 the equity research group was named "Best of the Boutiques" by Institutional Investor Magazine. FTN Midwest Securities Corp. is a division of FTN Financial and part of First Horizon National Corp. (NYSE:FHN). More information is available at www.MidwestResearch.com.