UPDATE: Bank of America Upgrades The Blackstone Group LP on Rising Distributions, Solid Growth

In a report published Monday, Bank of America analyst Michael Carrier upgraded the rating on

from Neutral to Buy, and raised the price target from $25.00 to $28.00. In the report, Bank of America noted, “We are upgrading BX to Buy from Neutral given rising distributions and attractive asset growth at a time when some in the sector are likely to begin facing some cyclicality. We are increasing our 2014 DE (distributable earnings) estimate by over 10% given stronger realizations and asset growth, and we are increasing our PO to $28. We view BX as one of the most attractive alternative asset managers given the powerful combination of healthy distributions and solid asset growth. We expect distributions at BX to ramp up over the next 0-18 months, first driven by real estate, then potentially by private equity. Given the sizeable amount of seasoned capital, mostly strong current performance, a sizeable accrued incentive base, and a favorable exit backdrop, we expect realizations and distributions to ramp up and likely beat expectations over the next 1-2 years.” The Blackstone Group LP closed on Friday at $22.83.