Stock Upgrades, Downgrades From TheStreet.com Ratings

Each weekday, TheStreet.com Ratings updates its ratings on the stocks it covers. The proprietary ratings model projects a stock's total return potential over a 12-month period, including both price appreciation and dividends. Buy, hold or sell ratings designate how the Ratings group expects these stocks to perform against a general benchmark of the equities market and interest rates.

While the ratings model is quantitative, it uses both subjective and objective elements. For instance, subjective elements include expected equities market returns, future interest rates, implied industry outlook and company earnings forecasts. Objective elements include volatility of past operating revenue, financial strength and company cash flows.

Cincinnati, Ohio regional bank Fifth Third Bancorp(FITB Quote) has been upgraded to a buy from a hold. TheStreet.com Ratings feels the company's profit margins are rather high. Revenue was up 4.6% in the first quarter of fiscal 2007 compared with the year-earlier period.

Although earnings have remained relatively flat over the past two years, analysts are expecting future improvement in this area. Fifth Third Bancorp's stock price has gained 9.6% over the past 12 months. FITB had been rated a hold since June 2005.

Internet service provider Earthlink(ELNK Quote) has been downgraded to a sell from a hold. The company's weaknesses can be seen in multiple areas, such as its feeble growth in its earnings per share, deteriorating net income, disappointing return on equity, weak operating cash flow and the generally disappointing historical performance in the stock itself.

Although the fact that this stock is now selling for less than others in its industry may make it attractive to some investors, TheStreet.com Ratings feels this is not reason enough to justify a buy rating at this time. Earthlink had been rated a hold since March 2006.