New Orleans native Brant Hocke sells energy equities to institutional investors for Iberia Capital Partners, covering the East and West coasts. From his hometown base and on the road, he meets with E&P executives and investors and seeks to match energy companies with like-minded buyers.

Hocke lettered in football at Tulane University, where he majored in finance and, later, obtained his master’s in finance. After college he worked in real estate for several years until Hurricane Katrina hit the city and region. His mother’s home was destroyed, and in the aftermath, Hocke spent about a year and a half working in real estate, demolishing homes damaged in the catastrophe and preparing others for rebuilding. “I was glad to be in a position to help the city in its rebirth,” he said.

Eager to enter the energy and capital markets arena, he joined Johnson Rice & Co., where he spent five years in equity sales. He moved to IberiaBank about two years ago. He was drawn by the opportunity to join a fairly recent startup, Iberia Capital Partners, the institutional equity division that is now about four years old.

Today, he’s excited about his hometown’s return to vibrancy and is enjoying his recent move downtown. At press time, energy markets were less than vibrant; on the day he chatted with Investor, in early October, energy stocks had been hard-hit. In an interview, Hocke discussed the nature of his work and what he looks for in public companies.

Brant Hocke

Investor: Earlier this fall you were on a trip to the West Coast. What did you do there?

Hocke: Callon Petroleum had just divested the last of its Gulf assets to become a pure Permian producer. Fred [L. Callon, chairman, president and CEO] and Joe [C. Gatto Jr., CFO] wanted to get out and tell the updated story, and we were happy to set it up. Over two days we arranged over 20 one-on-one meetings with institutional clients including breakfast and dinner meetings, time well spent for all.

Investor: It’s a tough environment lately for energy equities.

Hocke: At the beginning of this year there was a lot of excitement, right now we’re in a tough market. Energy leads the way up, and it leads the way down. But it is cyclical, you’re going to have sell-offs. Last year at the same time, there was a 20% sell-off. Investors are still interested in the space.

Investor: What do investors look for?

Hocke: Stock price appreciation, of course. Good companies that can grow meaningfully; companies with clean assets that can be accelerated meaningfully as merger or sale candidates; those with exploration upside in stacked-pay basins. Companies that can add material opportunities to their current asset bases; investors will care about those qualities.

Investor: How do you stay knowledgeable on the E&Ps?

Hocke: Our manager encourages us to be entrepreneurs. I like to get to know management, understand their work ethic, strategy and financials, be hands-on. It’s being in the weeds on the assets, knowing who you can trust and who good operators are.

Investor: You listen to hundreds of conference calls and presentations. How do you sort out what’s most important?

Hocke: You look for new factors that can change the valuation of a company up or down. It could be production growth, de risking assets, M&A, costs increasing … whatever it is.

The work involves early days, long days, frequent travel. We speak daily with investors who are meaningful in the energy equity market to get a sense of where sentiment is.

In my world you almost become a consultant. You understand what the investor portfolio objectives are, and how energy fits in. A lot don’t specialize in energy, and they want to speak with someone who is in the market every day and can help with research, valuations and provide an opinion.

Investor: How has the environment changed since you went into energy equity sales?

Hocke: The almost unbelievable production growth from the U.S. and how it is feeding the economy—that has changed. More than ever, investors are focused on hydrocarbon flows, different pricing points, the potential for exports. We’re producing more than we ever imagined—it’s great, but that’s also why we have a day like today, when some energy stocks are down 7%.

Investor: What do you enjoy most about your job?

Hocke: Being in the energy equity market is an exciting, fast-paced job, and there are always new opportunities. We get to speak with knowledgeable people in the space on both the company and investment side daily; that’s something I take pride in.

Investor: You have a cousin working in renewables on the West Coast. Do you debate energy issues?

Hocke: All the time. Renewables are a growing part of the equation. It’s all about getting the economics right, which he argues will be competitive sooner than people expect.

Investor: What are your favorite restaurants in New Orleans? The best place to hear live music?

Hocke: Doris Metropolitan for steak, and Peche for fish. My favorite place to listen to music is Hotel Monteleone.

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