Understanding Brokerage Ratings Systems
Stock analysts typically provide a one-word rating associated with each of their research
reports. Each brokerage makes use of its own ratings system.
Although brokerages often use similar ratings systems, a “buy” rating from two firms may mean
different things. For example, suppose Merrill Lynch and Davenport Securities both have a
“buy” rating on a given company. Merrill Lynch’s “buy” rating would be its top rating, however
Davenport Securities’ “buy” rating would be its second highest rating.
Even if two firms use the same ratings system, their ratings may mean two different things.
One firm’s “buy” rating may mean that they believe the stock will outperform the market by
10% over the next 12 months. Another firm’s “buy” rating might suggest that they believe the
stock will rise by 20% over the next 12 months. For this reason, it is important to review the
analysts’ price target relative to the stock’s current price.
Brokerages rarely issue “sell” and “underperform” ratings. Often brokerages will issue a “hold”
or “neutral” rating for companies they are bearish on. “Hold” and “neutral” ratings are often
effectively “sell” ratings.
We’ve created a dictionary of brokerage’s ratings systems to help you compare the ratings
systems used by different brokerages. Below are the ratings systems used by 162 brokerages.
Brokerage Ratings Systems
A
ABN Amro - Buy, Add, Hold, Reduce, Sell
Aegis - Buy, Hold, Sell
Ardour Capital - Buy, Accumulate, Hold, Reduce
Argus - Buy, Hold, Sell
Ascendiant Capital - Strong Buy, Buy, Neutral, Sell
Atlantic Equities - Overweight, Neutral, Underweight
Auriga - Buy, Hold, Sell
Avian - Positive, Neutral, Negative
Avondale - Outperform, Market Perform, Underperform
B
B. Riley - Buy, Neutral, Sell
Barclays - Overweight, Equal Weight, Underweight
Barrington - Outperform, Market Perform, Underperform
BB&T - Buy, Hold, Underweight
Benchmark Co. - Buy, Hold, Sell
Bernstein - Outperform, Market Perform, Underperform
BGB Securities - Buy, Hold, Sell
Understanding Brokerage Rating Systems
BGC Financial - Buy, Hold, Sell
BioLogic Equity - Buy, Hold, Sell
BMO Capital - Outperform, Market Perform, Underperform, Sell
Boenning & Scattergood - Outperform, Neutral, Underperform
Bank of America / Merrill Lynch - Buy, Neutral, Underperform
Brean Murray - Buy, Hold, Sell
BTIG - Buy, Neutral, Sell
Buckingham - Strong Buy, Buy, Neutral, Underperform
BWS Financial - Strong Buy, Buy, Hold, Sell
C
C.K. Cooper - Buy, Hold, Sell
Canaccord - Buy, Speculative Buy, Hold, Sell
Cantor - Buy, Hold, Sell
Capital One - Strong Buy, Add, Neutral, Reduce
Capstone - Strong Buy, Buy, Hold, Sell
Caris & Co - Buy, Above Average, Average, Below Average, Sell
Chardan Capital Markets - Buy, Neutral, Sell
Charter Equity - Strong Buy, Buy, Market Perform, Underperform
CIBC - Sector Outperformer, Sector Performer, Sector Underperformer
Citadel - Edge Positive, Add, Neutral, Reduce, Edge Negative
Citigroup - Buy, Neutral, Sell
CL King - Strong Buy, Buy, Neutral, Sell
Cleveland Research - Buy, Neutral, Underperform
CLSA - Buy, Outperform, Underperform, Sell
Collins Stewart - Buy, Neutral, Sell
Compass Point - Buy, Neutral, Sell
Cowen - Outperform, Neutral, Underperform
Craig-Hallum - Buy, Hold, Sell
Credit Suisse - Outperform, Neutral, Underperform
CRT Capital - Buy, Fair Value, Sell
D
DA Davidson - Buy, Neutral, Underperform
Dahlman Rose - Buy, Hold, Sell
Davenport - Strong Buy, Buy, Neutral, Sell
Desjardins - Buy, Hold, Sell
Detwiler Fenton - Buy, Hold, Sell
Deutsche Bank - Buy, Hold, Sell
Dougherty - Buy, Neutral, Sell
Dresdner - Buy, Hold, Sell
Duncan-Williams - Strong Buy, Buy, Hold, Reduce, Sell
Dundee - Buy, Neutral, Sell
E
EarlyBird Capital - Buy, Hold, Sell
Evercore - Overweight, Equal Weight, Underweight
Evolution - Buy, Add, Neutral, Sell, Reduce
2
Understanding Brokerage Rating Systems
Exane BNP Paribas - Outperform, Neutral, Underperform
F
FBN Securities - Outperform, Sector Perform, Underperform
FBR Capital - Outperform, Market Perform, Underperform
Feltl & Co. - Strong Buy, Buy, Hold, Sell
Fig Partners - Outperform, Market Perform, Underperform
First Analysis - Overweight, Equal Weight, Underweight
First Global - Outperform, Market Perform, Underperform
G
Gabelli - Buy, Hold, Sell
Garp Research - Buy, Neutral, Sell
Gilford Securities - Buy, Hold, Sell
Gleacher - Buy, Neutral, Sell
Global Hunter - Buy, Accumulate, Neutral, Reduce, Sell
Goldman - Conviction Buy, Buy, Neutral, Sell, Conviction Sell
Griffen Securities - Buy, Hold, Sell
Guggenheim - Buy, Neutral, Sell
Guilford - Buy, Hold, Sell
H
Hapoalim - Outperform, Market Perform, Underperform
Hilliard Lyons - Buy, Long-Term Buy, Neutral, Underperform
Howard Weil - Focus List, Outperform, Market Perform, Underperform
Howe Barnes - Buy, Neutral, Sell
HSBC - Overweight, Neutral, Underweight
Hudson Square - Buy, Hold, Sell
I
Iberia Capital- Outperform, Sector Perform, Underperform
Imperial Capital - Outperform, In-Line, Underperform
ING Group - Buy, Hold, Sell
ISI Group - Buy, Hold, Sell
J
Janco Securities - Buy, Accumulate, Market Perform, Sell
Janney Capital - Buy, Neutral, Sell
Jefferies - Buy, Hold, Underperform
JMP Securities - Outperform, Market Perform, Underperform
Johnson Rice - Focus List, Overweight, Equal Weight, Underweight
JPMorgan - Overweight, Neutral, Underweight
K
Keefe Bruyette - Outperform, Market Perform, Underperform
Kern and Suslow - Buy, Hold, Sell
Kevin Dann - Buy, Neutral, Sell
KeyBanc - Buy, Hold, Underweight
3
Understanding Brokerage Rating Systems
Knight - Buy, Hold, Sell
L
Ladenburg - Buy, Neutral, Sell
Lazard Capital - Buy, Neutral, Sell
Leerink - Outperform, Market Perform, Underperform
Longbow - Buy, Neutral, Sell
M
Macquarie - Outperform, Neutral, Underperform
Madison Williams - Buy, Accumulate, Neutral, Reduce, Sell
Matrix - Strong Buy, Buy, Add, Hold, Sell, Strong Sell
Maxim - Buy, Hold, Sell
McAdams Wright - Buy, Hold, Sell
Meredith Whitney Advisory - Buy, Outperform, Hold, Underperform, Sell
Merriman - Buy, Neutral, Sell
Miller Tabak - Strong Buy, Buy, Neutral, Sell, Strong Sell
Mizuho - Buy, Neutral, Underperform
MKM Partners - Buy, Neutral, Sell
MLV Equity - Buy, Hold, Sell
Monness and Crespi - Buy, Neutral, Sell
Morgan Joseph - Buy, Hold, Sell
Morgan Keegan - Outperform, Market Perform, Underperform
Morgan Stanley - Overweight, Equal Weight, Underweight
N
National Securities - Buy, Neutral, Sell
Natixis - Buy, Hold, Reduce
Needham & Company - Strong Buy, Buy, Hold, Underperform
Next Generation - Buy, Neutral, Sell
Noble Financial - Buy, Hold, Sell
Nomura - Buy, Neutral, Reduce
Northcoast - Buy, Neutral, Sell
Northland Securities - Outperform, Market Perform, Underperform
O
Oppenheimer - Outperform, Perform, Underperform
P
Pacific Crest - Outperform, Sector Perform, Underperform
Pacific American - Buy, Accumulate, Decrease, Sell
Piper Jaffray - Overweight, Neutral, Underweight
Pritchard - Buy, Neutral, Sell
R
Raymond James - Strong Buy, Outperform, Market Perform, Underperform
RBC Capital - Top Pick, Outperform, Sector Perform, Underperform
Royal Bank of Scotland - Buy, Hold, Sell
4
Understanding Brokerage Rating Systems
Rochdale Securities - Buy, Neutral, Sell
Rodman & Renshaw - Outperform, Market Perform, Underperform
Roth Capital - Buy, Neutral, Sell
Robert W. Baird - Outperform, Neutral, Underperform
S
Sandler ONeill - Buy, Hold, Sell
Scotia Capital - Outperform, Sector Perform, Underperform
Sidoti - Buy, Neutral, Not Rated
Signal Hill - Buy, Hold, Sell
Societe Generale - Buy, Hold, Sell
Standpoint Research - Buy, Accumulate, Hold, Underperform, Sell
Stephens - Overweight, Equal Weight, Underweight
Sterne Agee - Buy, Neutral, Underperform
Stifel Nicolaus - Buy, Hold, Sell
Summer Street - Buy, Neutral, Sell
SunTrust - Buy, Neutral, Reduce
Susquehanna - Positive, Neutral, Negative
T
Taglich - Buy, Speculative Buy, Neutral, Underperform, Sell Short
TD Securities - Action List Buy, Buy, Speculative Buy, Hold, Reduce
ThinkEquity - Buy, Hold, Sell
Ticonderoga - Buy, Neutral, Sell
Topeka - Buy, Hold, Sell
Tudor Pickering - Buy, Accumulate, Hold, Trim, Sell
U
UBS - Buy, Neutral, Sell
W
Wedbush - Outperform, Neutral, Underperform
Wedge Partners - Buy, Hold, Sell
Weeden - Buy, Hold, Sell
Wells Fargo - Outperform, Market Perform, Underperform
WestLB - Buy, Add, Neutral, Reduce, Sell
William Blair - Outperform, Market Perform, Underperform
Williams Capital - Buy, Hold, Sell
WJB Capital - Outperform, Perform, Underperform
Wolfe Trahan - Outperform, Peer Perform, Underperform
Wunderlich - Buy, Hold, Sell
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