KeyBanc raises Goodyear's stock rating

KeyBanc Capital Markets has upgraded its Goodyear stock rating to "BUY (2)" from "HOLD (3)" despite a 35.5% increase in its share price since the ratification of the new labor contract on Dec. 29, 2006.

According to analyst Saul Ludwig, a managing director with KeyBanc, the optimism is based on a much improved outlook for the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. "We are setting our 12-month price target at $39."

(Goodyear's stock price on the New York stock exchange closed at $29.88 a share on Monday, March 19.)

In addition, Ludwig says both tire industry dynamics and Goodyear's internal initiatives "bode well for the company."