Masanori Wakae Mizuho Securities Group

Clients say repeat third-teamer Masanori Wakae of Mizuho Securities Group is “bold” and possesses “strong industry knowledge in a sector that’s no longer thoroughly covered by the sell side.” They also underscore his September upgrade of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries from neutral to outperform, at ¥303, largely on the growth of orders for infrastructure projects. He also forecast higher margins in the Tokyo-based engineering and heavy-duty equipment contractor’s power systems segment and rising earnings in its low-margin businesses. The stock jumped 25.7 percent, to ¥381, and shot past the sector by 18.7 percentage points, through February. Wakae remains bullish, telling investors that orders and earnings will continue to rise through the remainder of this year. — Ben Mattlin

RUNNER(S)-UP
- Hidehiko Hoshino UBS
- Takahiro Mori Bank of America Merrill Lynch
- Taku Ouchi SMBC Nikko Securities
- Ryo Tazaki Nomura Securities Co.