< The 2015 All-Japan Research Team
Tairiku Sakaguchi
Mizuho Securities Group
First-place appearances: 0
Total appearances: 2
Team debut: 2014
For a second consecutive year, Tairiku Sakaguchi of Mizuho Securities Group earns third-place honors, in part because “his client service is very good,” one fund manager remarks. “He responds to all my inquiries immediately, and he takes the time to explain difficult concepts and complicated issues.” Stanley Electric Co. remains the 36-year-old researcher’s favorite Japanese auto-parts manufacturer. Headquartered in Tokyo, the company is best known for its lighting business and is benefiting from price hikes in its product lines as a result of “the increased adoption of high-value-added headlamps,” he says. Automakers, he explains, are outfitting late-model cars with such advanced, high-functioning components as light-emitting-diode headlamps, as well as those with adaptive driving beams that automatically adjust to the directions of curved roads. Sakaguchi also lauds Stanley Electric’s management for streamlining operations, which is producing “an upturn in improved productivity” in China and North America and leading to continued double-digit margins in the company’s operating profit. He further commends the executive team’s shareholder-friendly policies, especially its buying back shares “every year since 2006. Even as the competitive environment in the auto-parts sector intensifies,” he adds, “we believe Stanley Electric is capable of achieving growth.” Trading at ¥2,225 late last month, after an increase of 24.9 percent over the trailing 12-month period, the stock earns a price objective of ¥3,000 from the analyst. “He provides broad coverage, including on a number of smaller names,” reports another supporter. “I also rely on his timely feedback whenever he visits the suppliers’ important overseas operations.”