NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Newmont Mining (NEM) - Get Report were upgraded at Jefferies today to "hold" from "underperform", with an increased price target to $23 from $15.

"Based on our analysis the mining sector is approaching a cyclical trough, with mining share prices likely to go lower in the near term," Jefferies said.

In the case of gold, higher interest rates and a stronger dollar should limit the upside to the price over the medium term even though global gold mine supply is likely to trend lower after this year, analysts noted, adding that it will gradually drift higher in the long term and possibly reach around $1,300 per ounce. 

Newmont Mining has limited growth potential at current gold price levels and is developing the Merian project with first gold pour targeted for late 2016. The Conga project offers the prospect of reasonable production growth in future years but is a high risk.

Newmont Mining is a production-stage mining company focused on gold production. 

"Newmont has better free cash flow generation than other gold majors and a relatively strong balance sheet but also has high costs and a short reserve life," Jefferies said.

In addition, the firm noted that further upside to the gold price beyond analysts' forecasts should depend on either a weaker dollar or an acceleration of demand in China and/or India. 

Shares of Newmont Mining are down 1.67% to $22.02 in midday trading Tuesday.

Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates NEWMONT MINING CORP as a Hold with a ratings score of C. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation:

"We rate NEWMONT MINING CORP (NEM) a HOLD. The primary factors that have impacted our rating are mixed some indicating strength, some showing weaknesses, with little evidence to justify the expectation of either a positive or negative performance for this stock relative to most other stocks. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its impressive record of earnings per share growth, compelling growth in net income and reasonable valuation levels. However, as a counter to these strengths, we find that the stock has experienced relatively poor performance when compared with the S&P 500 during the past year."

Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows:

• NEWMONT MINING CORP reported significant earnings per share improvement in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. The company has demonstrated a pattern of positive earnings per share growth over the past year. We feel that this trend should continue. This trend suggests that the performance of the business is improving. During the past fiscal year, NEWMONT MINING CORP turned its bottom line around by earning $1.10 versus -$5.21 in the prior year. This year, the market expects an improvement in earnings ($1.24 versus $1.10).
• The net income growth from the same quarter one year ago has significantly exceeded that of the S&P 500 and the Metals & Mining industry. The net income increased by 101.3% when compared to the same quarter one year prior, rising from -$1,187.00 million to $15.00 million.
• The company's current return on equity greatly increased when compared to its ROE from the same quarter one year prior. This is a signal of significant strength within the corporation. Compared to other companies in the Metals & Mining industry and the overall market on the basis of return on equity, NEWMONT MINING CORP has outperformed in comparison with the industry average, but has underperformed when compared to that of the S&P 500.
• NEM's debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65 is somewhat low overall, but it is high when compared to the industry average, implying that the management of the debt levels should be evaluated further. Regardless of the somewhat mixed results with the debt-to-equity ratio, the company's quick ratio of 1.40 is sturdy.
• In its most recent trading session, NEM has closed at a price level that was not very different from its closing price of one year earlier. This is probably due to its weak earnings growth as well as other mixed factors. Despite the fact that it has already risen in the past year, there is currently no conclusive evidence that warrants the purchase or sale of this stock.
• You can view the full analysis from the report here: NEM Ratings Report