Dahlman Rose Upgrading AK Steel To Buy (AKS)

Dahlman Rose & Co. is upgrading shares of AK Steel Holding Corporation AKS to Buy and putting a $22 price target on shares after it reported earnings. In a note to investors, Dahlman Rose writes, "We are increasing our 2011 EPS estimate to $1.35 from $0.95 and our 2012 EPS estimate to $2.00 from $1.50 based on a more favorable product mix and higher operating margins. We are initiating a 1Q11 EPS estimate of $0.50. We are upgrading our rating on AKS to a Buy from a Hold. We are initiating a $22 price target, which we obtain by applying a 5.0x multiple to our 2012 EBITDA estimate of $600 MM." Shares of AKS are up 10 cents in pre-market trading to $17.06, a gain of 0.6%.