Berenberg Capital Markets has dropped coverage of 10 shipping names after its equity analyst moved to new duties within the German bank.
In response to a query from TradeWinds today, equity analyst Donald McLee said he had taken an opportunity to begin coverage of the food sector and would no longer do shipping research.
However, McLee noted that Berenberg remains active within shipping. Analysts in London cover container lines AP Moller Maersk and Hapag Lloyd. McLee said he would not be surprised if another analyst fills his shipping seat in New York.
The shuffle at Berenberg follows the withdrawal of several banks from shipping research this year.
In late June, JP Morgan became the sixth bank in recent months to fully or partly dump shipping coverage, following on from Credit Suisse, UBS, Seaport Global Securities, the Maxim Group and fellow bulge-bracket firm Morgan Stanley.
At the same time, a handful of players have made a countercyclical move into the space, including Berenberg BTIG, B Riley FBR and Noble Capital.
Berenberg had hired McLee away from Wells Fargo to be its first US-based shipping analyst in July 2017.
Names under his coverage included Tsakos Energy Navigation, Golar LNG, Navigator Holdings, Costamare, Golar LNG Partners, GasLog, Dynagas, Hoegh LNG Partners, GasLog Partners and MPC Container Ships.
