Honda, Activision, M&T: Ratings Upgrades

Honda Motor, Activision Blizzard and M&T Bank were upgraded at TheStreet.

Author:: Jake Lynch
Publish date:: Apr 21, 2010 5:00 AM EDT

BOSTON (TheStreet) -- Here are three upgrades from TheStreet's stock model.

The model upgraded

M&T Bank

to "buy."

Quarter

: First-quarter profit more than doubled to $151 million, or $1.15 a share, as revenue grew 5.3% to $934 million. The operating margin jumped from 20% to 42%. M&T has $1.2 billion of cash and $12 billion of debt, equaling a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.5.

Stock

: M&T has advanced 62% during the past year, outperforming U.S. indices. The stock trades at a price-to-projected-earnings ratio of 15 and a price-to-book ratio of 1.3, 19% and 13% discounts to peer averages. It's expensive based on sales.

Consensus

: Of analysts covering M&T, four, or 19%, advise purchasing its shares, 14 recommend holding and three suggest selling them.

McAdams Wright Ragen

expects the stock to advance 32% to $112.

Raymond James

(RJF) - Get Report

predicts it will hit $95.

The model upgraded videogame maker

Activision Blizzard

(ATVI) - Get Report

to "hold."

Quarter

: Activision Blizzard's fourth-quarter loss more than tripled to $286 million, or 23 cents, as revenue declined 5% to $1.6 billion. The operating margin remained negative. Activision Blizzard holds $3.2 billion of cash and no debt.

Stock

: Activision Blizzard has gained 18% during the past year, trailing major benchmarks. The stock trades at a price-to-book ratio of 1.4 and a price-to-sales ratio of 3.4, 73% and 48% discounts to peer averages. It's also cheap based on projected earnings.

Consensus

: Of researchers following Activision Blizzard, 29, or 94%, rate its stock "buy" and two rate it "hold."

Janco Partners

expects the stock to gain 45% to $17.23.

Royal Bank of Canada

(RY) - Get Report

and

Wedbush

say the shares could hit $16.

The model upgraded carmaker

Honda

(HMC) - Get Report

to "buy."

Quarter

: Fiscal third-quarter profit more than doubled to $1.4 billion, or 78 cents, as revenue decreased 39% to $22 billion. The operating margin jumped from 4.6% to 8.3%. Honda has $11 billion of cash and $46 billion of debt, equaling a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.

Stock

: Honda has increased 24% during the past year, lagging behind U.S. indices. The stock trades at a price-to-projected-earnings ratio of 18 and a price-to-cash-flow ratio of 5, 56% and 8% discounts to industry averages. It's expensive based on sales.

Consensus

: Of firms rating Honda, one advocates purchasing its shares and one recommends holding them.

Bank of America

(BAC) - Get Report

predicts the stock will gain 10% to $38. Six of the 10 largest shareholders increased their bets during the fourth quarter.

-- Reported by Jake Lynch in Boston.