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 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.

Suburban Propane Partners(SPH Quote) has been upgraded to a buy from a hold. Powered by its EPS growth of 32.5% in the second quarter of 2007 over the year-earlier period -- among other important factors -- its stock has increased 62.8% over the past year. Despite these gains, the stock should continue to move higher. The company's net income growth in the same quarter of 26.0% has exceeded that of the S&P 500 and the gas and utilities industry average. Its current return on equity is also up 58.3% over the year-earlier period. Suburban Propane had been rated a hold since February 2006. ...