Shares of Japanese trading companies that Warren Buffett has invested in climbed to record highs after analysts at Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised their price targets by more than 40%.
Mitsui & Co. has gained the most, rising as much as 2.8% to 5,182 yen ($37) and breaking above Jefferies’ new price target of 5,000 yen announced in a report on Monday. Mitsubishi Corp., Itochu Corp., and Sumitomo Corp. also jumped, though they stayed below the renewed targets.
The trading houses have been renewing record highs since Buffett said in April that he’s raised his holdings in them and is looking to increase his exposure to stocks in Japan. The billionaire investor’s endorsement, combined with improvements in shareholders returns including buybacks and efforts to improve ESG scores, have helped boost market sentiment toward the companies, according to the Jefferies report.
Mitsubishi, Japan’s biggest trading house, has gained 51% this year, beating the Topix index’s 20% advance. The companies could outperform the benchmark by another 10% to 30% to reach par levels in terms of the valuations of average Japanese listed stocks, Jefferies analysts including Than Ha Pham wrote.
