UPDATE: Benchmark Company Reiterates Buy Rating, Raises PT on The McGraw-Hill Companies on Positive 2013 Outlook

In a report published Monday, Benchmark Company analyst Edward J. Atorino reiterated a Buy rating on The McGraw-Hill Companies

, and raised the price target from $57.00 to $59.00. In the report, Atorino noted, “McGraw-Hill is a global information services provider of financial services and business information. It participates in these industries through various subsidiaries including Standard & Poor's, Capital IQ, S&P Dow Jones Indices a joint venture between S&P and Dow Jones J.D. Power & Associates and Platts. McGraw Hill recently completed the sale of McGraw Hill Education to investment funds associated with Apollo Group for $2.5 billion. Through Standard & Poor's, McGraw-Hill is one of the two the largest credit rating agencies in the world. Ratings agency revenue is highly correlated to bond issuance. 2012 appears headed for a strong year for bond issuance. With a continuing low interest rate environment, corporations should continue to issue new debt for capital expenditures, share repurchases, mergers and acquisitions, and refinancing. There remains a substantial amount of debt to be refinanced that ought to drive debt issuance through 2015. S&P estimates more than $1 trillion will be financed each year for the next several years.” The McGraw-Hill Companies closed on Friday at $51.54.