UPDATE: Bank of America Upgrades China Lodging Group to Buy on Increased Confidence

Bank of America raised its rating on China Lodging Group

from Neutral to Buy and increased its price objective from $16.90 to $22.20. Bank of America commented, "We are upgrading China Lodging Group (HTHT) to Buy from Neutral as we see more clarity on the outlook of the economy hotel sector and expect the sector will see margin expansion next year. We expect RevPAR to be able to rise over 2% YoY due to the improvement in China's economy next year while the lower inflation environment should slow down the pace of cost increase." China Lodging Group closed at $16.96 on Monday.