< The 2015 All-America Research Team

Total Appearances: 11

Analyst Debut: 2005

Joseph Greff debuted on Institutional Investor’s All-America Research Team in 2005, earning a runner-up position. He secured first place the following year and has maintained that position ever since. With ten total No. 1 appearances, Greff earns induction into the Hall of Fame, the only analyst to do so this year. The J.P. Morgan researcher, 45, is hailed by one investor as “a seasoned pro who knows the industry cold and has great contacts.” Another admirer marvels that “Joe clearly has more hours in his day than anyone else.” Greff hiked his rating on Wyomissing, Pennsylvania’s Gaming and Leisure Properties from neutral to overweight in January, citing in part the casino owner’s high dividend yield and steady rental income stream. He suspended coverage of the stock in July because his firm was involved in the company’s planned acquisition of Las Vegas–based rival Pinnacle Entertainment’s real estate assets, capturing a 15.7 percent gain, to $34.15, that outdistanced the sector by 6.5 percentage points. Also in January the researcher moved in the other direction on Host Hotels & Resorts of Bethesda, Maryland, abandoning his long-held overweight rating on the real estate investment trust and assigning it a neutral rating. The stock was overpriced at $23.52, he reasoned, having run up 21.2 percent in the preceding 12 months alone, while the sector was flat. Subsequently, Host Hotels had shaved 29.7 percent by mid-September, closing at $16.53 and lagging its peers by 38.8 percentage points. Of the 28 names Greff tracks in this space, Las Vegas’s MGM Resorts International is a favorite going forward, thanks to the resort giant’s steady earnings and new properties. The stock was trading at $20.66 in mid-September, and he predicts a rise to $25. “Betting with Joe gets you greater than house odds,” quips a third investor.