Equity One Inc. Stock Upgraded (EQY)

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Equity One (NYSE:EQY) has been upgraded by TheStreet Ratings from hold to buy. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its robust revenue growth, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, reasonable valuation levels, good cash flow from operations and solid stock price performance. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had sub par growth in net income.

Highlights from the ratings report include:

• The revenue growth came in higher than the industry average of 17.4%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues rose by 36.6%. This growth in revenue does not appear to have trickled down to the company's bottom line, displayed by a decline in earnings per share.
• The debt-to-equity ratio is somewhat low, currently at 0.90, and is less than that of the industry average, implying that there has been a relatively successful effort in the management of debt levels.
• Net operating cash flow has increased to $34.30 million or 18.70% when compared to the same quarter last year. In addition, EQUITY ONE INC has also vastly surpassed the industry average cash flow growth rate of -55.58%.
• Compared to where it was a year ago today, the stock is now trading at a higher level, regardless of the company's weak earnings results. Looking ahead, unless broad bear market conditions prevail, we still see more upside potential for this stock, despite the fact that it has already risen over the past year.

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Equity One, Inc., a real estate investment trust (REIT), engages in the ownership, management, acquisition, renovation, and development of neighborhood and community shopping centers in the United States. The company has a P/E ratio of 53, above the average real estate industry P/E ratio of 30.5 and above the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Equity One has a market cap of $2.17 billion and is part of the financial sector and real estate industry. Shares are up 14.3% year to date as of the close of trading on Wednesday.

You can view the full Equity One Ratings Report or get investment ideas from our investment research center.
-- Written by a member of TheStreet RatingsStaff

For more information on Equity One Inc. click any of the following:

• Equity One Inc. Stock Price

• Equity One Inc. Analyst Ratings

• Equity One Inc. Key Stats & Profile

• Equity One Inc. Earnings

• Equity One Inc. Ratio Comparison

• Equity One Inc. Growth Rates

• Equity One Inc. Balance Sheet

• Equity One Inc. Cash Flow

• Equity One Inc. Income Statement