In a note released Thursday morning, the team at MLV upgraded shares of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (NYSE: HOT) from Hold to Buy and raised the price target from $86 to $96.
The team wrote, "Our upgrade is based on our view that an improving economic landscape in the Eurozone will translate into increased asset sales and share repurchases, exceeding current muted expectations."
The team added that due to the relative underperformance of the stock, "now is the time to enter."
Highlights from the note:
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Economists forecasting accelerated economic growth in Europe through 2014. Starwood has more European exposure than most peers.
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Believe the majority of Starwood's properties which are potentially for sale are in Europe and Latin America, where the buyer pool is beginning to expand.
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Expected asset sales raised by $100 million in 2014 and $400 million in 2015. Total combined expected asset sales for 2014 and 2015 ~$1.5 billion.
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Expect over $1.5 billion of share repurchases over the next seven quarters.
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