Katsushi Saito Nomura Securities Co.

The buy side says: “His earnings forecasts are exact and detailed.”

Dubbed “the most knowledgeable on fundamentals — with the strongest access to management teams” by one investor, Katsushi Saito is No. 1 for a third year running (and for the 11th time since 2000). The Nomura ­Securities Co. researcher — whose coverage universe, at 20 companies, is unchanged since last year — is also applauded for a December upgrade of Yaskawa Electric Corp. from neutral to buy, at ¥637. Saito anticipated a rise in demand, particularly from the electronics industry, and he was right. By the end of February, shares of the Fukuoka-­based supplier of motors, industrial robots and high-tech drives for flat-­panel screens had shot up 22.4 percent, to ¥780. Clients also praise the 46-year-old analyst’s May 2011 downgrade of Hitachi Construction ­Machinery Co. from neutral to sell, at ¥1,762, ahead of an expected slowdown in Chinese building. In July, after the stock had slid to ¥1,661, Saito raised it back to neutral, on valuation. The Tokyo-headquartered construction-­equipment ­maker’s stock inched up 2.3 percent, to ¥1,699, through February. — Ben Mattlin