Dick Bove: Crazy-Smart, or Just Crazy?

There have been many early calls over the years, including one that got him fired from Shearson Lehman in 1990 during the commercial real estate loan crisis. In November of that year, he had predicted that bank stocks would bottom and began "aggressively buying bank stocks," which apparently his employers did not approve of. Less than a week later, "those stocks hit bottom and went up" hundreds of percent, Bove says.

Despite the firing, Bove says that was his best call ever.

More recently, Bove's August 2005 report titled, "This Powder Keg is Going to Blow" has proven particularly prescient. In it, he predicted the meltdown in the housing industry at a time the sector was still flying high.

Over his 43-year career, Bove has had more than one tussle with the companies he covers, he says. Wachovia, the subject of his recent scorn, declined to comment for this article.

But his strong, seasoned opinions are especially appreciated by clients searching for insight when banks stocks are extremely volatile, some say.

"If you look at what is going on in the sector -- no reasonable opinion is too far out there," says one institutional client who relies on Bove's research. "The research is more thought-provoking. A lot of us find that intellectually interesting and something we want to hear."

However, Bove "does tend to be a bit of a contrarian," the client says. "He's a candid, sincere guy and goes out there and says what he thinks. He's not afraid of putting it in writing when he thinks [a company] is screwing up."