Two mid-cap and two small-cap companies have earned perfect scores on a range of MSCI indicators for traits including good governance and transparent reporting, earning them top spots on this year’s Forbes 100 Most Trustworthy Companies in America list.
Freight transport company Con-way and real estate investment trust Equity LifeStyle Properties lead the mid-caps on the list, both scoring the maximum 100 points last quarter in MSCI’s accounting and governance risk (AGR) rating system. This system considers factors such as regulatory actions, amended filings, bankruptcy risk, revenue and expense recognition methods and cases where the CEO is also the chairman.
Stepan Company, which calls itself a sustainable chemical solutions company, and automotive industry supplier Tower International lead the small-caps category, with 100 AGR points each in the last quarter. Automotive supplier Magna International, which is based in Canada but qualifies for the list as a North American company listed on the NYSE, leads the large caps, with 99 points over the last quarter.
Looking at scores averaged out over the last four quarters, Magna International leads the large-cap sector, with 96 points, followed by construction company Quanta Services, with an average of 94. Tennant Company, which makes outdoor environmental cleaning solutions, leads mid-caps over the last four quarters, with an average score of 98 points, followed by BJ’s Restaurants and Equity LifeStyle Properties, which averaged 97 points each.
Small-cap Comfort Systems USA, which installs and maintains heating and air conditioning systems, is the only company on the list to average 100 points in the last four quarters, though it slipped to 99 points in the last ranking of the year (with the year’s average rounding up to 100). Kimball International comes next among small caps, scoring an average of 96, and placing on the list for the third time.
Well-known large-cap companies that make the list this year include PepsiCo, with 93 points, Anadarko Petroleum with 79, Dollar Tree with 97 and Whole Foods Market, which scores 74. Daktronics, a mid-cap business support company, and large-cap medical equipment firm Patterson Companies are the only companies to make the list four years in a row this year.
