NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of First Niagara Financial Group are up 1.87% to $8.18 after Jefferies upgraded the company to "buy" from "hold" and raised its price target to $9.50 from $8. Analysts cited three reasons for the upgrade. First, the company's strategic investment plan is running ahead of schedule and showing promise of revenue generation this year, analysts said. Additionally, the clarity on deposit process removes worst-case scenarios, analysts observed, adding management guidance at 60 cents a share for 2015 appears reasonable and marks the end of a long negative revision cycle. Exclusive Report: Jim Cramer's Best Stocks for 2015 STOCKS TO BUY: TheStreet Quant Ratings has identified a handful of stocks that can potentially TRIPLE in the next 12 months. Learn more. Jefferies also raised their EPS forecast to 60/68 cents from 57/66 cents for '15/'16, respectively. First Niagara is a community bank providing financial services to individuals, families and businesses across NY, PA, CT and MA. Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates FIRST NIAGARA FINANCIAL GRP as a Hold with a ratings score of C. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation: "We rate FIRST NIAGARA FINANCIAL GRP (FNFG) 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. Among the primary strengths of the company is its expanding profit margins over time. At the same time, however, we also find weaknesses including deteriorating net income, disappointing return on equity and weak operating cash flow." Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows: The gross profit margin for FIRST NIAGARA FINANCIAL GRP is currently very high, coming in at 86.27%. It has increased from the same quarter the previous year. Regardless of the strong results of the gross profit margin, the net profit margin of -243.23% is in-line with the industry average. FNFG, with its decline in revenue, slightly underperformed the industry average of 0.3%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly dropped by 4.7%. Weakness in the company's revenue seems to have hurt the bottom line, decreasing earnings per share. FIRST NIAGARA FINANCIAL GRP has experienced a steep decline in earnings per share in the most recent quarter in comparison to its performance from the same quarter a year ago. This company has reported somewhat volatile earnings recently. We feel it is likely to report a decline in earnings in the coming year. During the past fiscal year, FIRST NIAGARA FINANCIAL GRP increased its bottom line by earning $0.75 versus $0.40 in the prior year. For the next year, the market is expecting a contraction of 286.7% in earnings (-$1.40 versus $0.75). The company, on the basis of change in net income from the same quarter one year ago, has significantly underperformed when compared to that of the S&P 500 and the Commercial Banks industry. The net income has significantly decreased by 1266.5% when compared to the same quarter one year ago, falling from $79.14 million to -$923.23 million. Return on equity has greatly decreased when compared to its ROE from the same quarter one year prior. This is a signal of major weakness within the corporation. Compared to other companies in the Commercial Banks industry and the overall market, FIRST NIAGARA FINANCIAL GRP's return on equity significantly trails that of both the industry average and the S&P 500. You can view the full analysis from the report here: FNFG Ratings Report STOCKS TO BUY: TheStreet Quant Ratings has identified a handful of stocks that can potentially TRIPLE in the next 12 months. Learn more.
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