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| Hiroshi Torii |
| SMBC Nikko Securities |
| First-Place Appearances: 3 Total Appearances: 5 Analyst Debut: 2010 |
Notching his third consecutive first-place finish is SMBC Nikko Securities’Hiroshi Torii, who “has had an amazing year of solid stock calls,” one portfolio manager reports. The 35-year-old analyst covers 37 Japanese real estate investment trusts, and investors cheer his constancy on longtime favorite Japan Hotel REIT Investment Corp. Since July 2012, Torii has been advising clients that the Tokyo-based investment firm is an outperformer. At that time, he cited its high dividend yield and a recovery in the local hotel market. Sure enough, hotel demand has kept climbing, and the shares have gone right up with it. As of mid-March 2014, Japan Hotel’s shares had bolted 125.3 percent, to ¥47,800, trouncing the sector by 75 percentage points. Over the trailing 12 months, they jumped 42.7 percent, against a loss of 6.6 percent for their peers, and Torii still recommends them. He is similarly bullish on Tokyo-based Nippon Prologis REIT, which earns him further investor accolades. Owing largely to its portfolio of high-quality, logistics-related properties — and ability to acquire more through debt funding — the analyst assumed coverage on Nippon Prologis in July with an outperform rating. The stock subsequently climbed a split-adjusted 19.1 percent, to close at ¥204,300 in mid-March, while the sector inched up 2.3 percent. Going forward, Torii is especially optimistic about the prospects for Japan’s office market. Accordingly, he is touting two Tokyo-based players, Japan Excellent and Kenedix Office Investment Corp. “His analyses are dynamic and dead on target,” insists another booster.