Stock Upgrades, Downgrades From TheStreet.com Ratings

Each business day, 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.

American Greetings(AM Quote), which makes greeting cards, party goods and other items, has been downgraded to hold. While the company's growth in net income has been compelling, its revenue is rising and it is reasonably valued, return on equity has been disappointing.

American Greetings swung to a fiscal-year second-quarter profit of $8.4 million, or 15 cents a share, from a loss of $10.5 million, or 18 cents a share, a year ago. Revenue increased about 2.3% to $377.4 million, short of the industry average of 3.7%. The company also backed its prior guidance for fiscal 2008 earnings of $1.35 to $1.55 a share. Even though American Greetings' stock has risen in the past year, there is currently no conclusive evidence that warrants the purchase or sale of this stock. American Greetings had been rated buy since June.