Graham Cunningham & team Citi
The buy side says: “They’re independent minded and not in the pocket of industry.”
Returning to the top after a year in third place is Citi’s group of six under Graham Cunningham, 38. The Hong Kong–based analysts track 35 stocks and “have a better sense of earnings and forecasts” than their peers, declares one backer. China’s Kunlun Energy is “our top long-term pick,” Cunningham says, on the belief that the oil and gas producer is well positioned to benefit from increased domestic demand for natural gas by virtue of its liquid-natural-gas import terminals and Shaanxi-to-Beijing pipelines. The team also likes China National Offshore Oil Corp. “We expect CNOOC’s valuation multiples will remain low, owing to weak volume growth, but we expect the stock to hit HK$20 a share driven by strong earnings performance,” he says. (The shares were trading near HK$16 in late March.) Cunningham, who joined Citi from J.P. Morgan in 2006, earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance from Canada’s University of Manitoba. — Paul Sweeney