THIRD TEAM
Hajime Hitotsuyanagi Daiwa Securities Group
After six consecutive years in second place, Hajime Hitotsuyanagi slides one notch to third. Clients praise the Daiwa Securities Group researcher for his “deep analysis and solid reporting,” but critics charge that he is “not proactive enough.” Case in point: Hitotsuyanagi has maintained an outperform on Mitsui O.S.K. Lines since upgrading the Tokyo-based marine cargo operator from neutral more than eight years ago, in December 2002. By the end of February 2011, the stock had sailed from ¥228 to ¥541, gaining 137.3 percent while the sector remained anchored in the same place. However, over the past year (through February), Mitsui O.S.K.’s shares sank 5.6 percent, from ¥573, compared with the sector’s loss of just 0.5 percent.
Polling and tabulation of data as well as reporting on the sector profiles were completed before the March 11 Tohoku earthquake.