Ericsson (ERIC), Monsanto (MON) & More: These Stocks Are Getting Some Love from Analysts

Energy Transfer Partners LP (NYSE:ETP) received both a rating upgrade as well as a price target boost from Robert W. Baird. The agency raised its rating on the stock to ‘Outperform’ from ‘Neutral’ and nearly doubled its target price on it, to $45 from $25. The company recently purchased a ranch on a 6,000-acre parcel of land near a North Dakota site where thousands are protesting its Dakota Access Pipeline. The pipeline, which will carry crude from North Dakota to Illinois, has been approved by the US Army Corps of Engineers. 22 hedge funds in our database have positions in Energy Transfer Partners LP (NYSE:ETP) as of June 30, with their aggregate holdings valued at about $833 million.

Marriott International Inc (NASDAQ:MAR)‘s stock has received a number of analyst updates this morning. Goldman Sachs started coverage on the stock with a ‘Buy’ rating and has set an $81 price target on it. Meanwhile, Stifel Nicolaus boosted its price target on the stock to $66 from $65 and has a ‘Hold’ rating on it, while Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to ‘Overweight’ from ‘Equal Weight’, while maintaining a $78 price target on it. While Goldman Sachs is cautious on the hotel sector as a whole, it likes Marriott’s Starwood acquisition and believes the company has attractive returns and locations which are not being fully appreciated by the market. 36 hedge funds that we track held about $1.72 billion worth of Marriott International Inc (NASDAQ:MAR) shares at the end of the June quarter, up from 33 funds holding $1.28 billion in Marriott positions at the end of the March quarter.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) stock received a positive ratings boost from HSBC this morning. The firm now has a ‘Hold’ rating on it, up its previous rating of ‘Reduce’. The company is looking to expand its international market by making a foray into Argentina. AT&T also recently announced signing an agreement with Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR) to buy some of its spectrum. 55 of the hedge funds in our system held about $3.55 billion worth of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T)’s stock as of the end of the June quarter, up from 51 funds holding $3.20 billion in stock at the end of the March quarter.

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