DBRS lowers Inter Pipeline

DBRS said it downgraded the issuer rating and the unsecured medium-term notes rating of Inter Pipeline Ltd. to BBB from BBB (high).

The downgrades remove the ratings from under review with negative implications where they were placed on Dec. 21, 2017.

All trends are stable.

DBRS said its rating actions follow the company’s decision to construct the C$3.5 billion Heartland Petrochemical Complex that consists of an integrated propane dehydrogenation (PDH) and polypropylene (PP) facility in Alberta.

S&P elevates HCA Healthcare

S&P said it raised its corporate credit rating on HCA Healthcare Inc. to BB+ from BB. The outlook is stable.

In addition, S&P said it raised its rating on the company's senior unsecured debt to BB- from B+ to reflect the higher corporate credit rating. The 6 recovery rating remains unchanged, indicating an expectation for negligible recovery (0%-10%; rounded estimate: 0%) in the event of a payment default.

S&P affirmed its BBB- issue-level rating on HCA's secured debt, as S&P typically limits upward notching on debt issued by credits in the BB+ rating category to one notch. The 1 recovery rating indicates an expectation for very high recovery (90%-100%; rounded estimate: 90%) in the event of a payment default.

“Our ratings upgrade reflects our view that the company's credit profile is more consistent with that of BB+ peers following continued EBITDA growth, consistent, substantial free cash flow generation, and leverage in the very low-4x range,” S&P said in a news release.

Moody’s lifts Highmark debt

Moody’s Investors Service said it upgraded Highmark Inc.’s senior unsecured debt rating to Baa2 from Baa3.

The outlook is stable.

The agency said the the upgrade primarily recognizes Highmark's vastly improved operating results in the Affordable Care Act business, improved performance at the group's integrated health delivery affiliate, Allegheny Health Network, and increased confidence that membership will remain stable as the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center consent decree transition period concludes in July 2019.

These developments support an improved assessment of Highmark's market position, profitability and financial flexibility, Moody’s said.

S&P ups Jones Lang LaSalle

S&P said it raised its long-term issuer credit rating on Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. to BBB+ from BBB. The outlook is stable. S&P also affirmed the short-term issuer credit rating at A-2.

At the same time, S&P said it raised its issue rating on the company’s unsecured senior notes to BBB+ from BBB.

“The upgrade reflects our expectation that leverage will remain between 1.5x-2.0x over the next 18-24 months, the company will not engage in any large-scale acquisitions, and it will maintain its conservative financial policies. As of March 2018, JLL's leverage, measured as net debt to EBITDA, declined to 1.9x from 2.9x at the same time last year,” S&P said in a news release.

Moody’s upgrades RBS debt

Moody's Investors Service said it upgraded the long-term senior unsecured debt ratings of Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc to Baa2 from Baa3 and the short-term commercial paper ratings to P-2 from P-3.

The agency changed the outlook to positive from stable on the senior unsecured debt and affirmed all ratings of NatWest Markets plc, NatWest Markets NV, National Westminster Bank plc, Royal Bank of Scotland plc and Ulster Bank Ltd.

At the same time the agency changed the outlook to positive from stable on the senior debt and deposit ratings of NatWest Markets and NatWest Markets NV, and changed the outlook to positive from stable on the deposit rating of NatWest Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Bank.

Moody’s said the upgrade reflects the stronger standalone credit profile of the group, as well as an expectation that the group's profitability will increase in the medium-term as it has settled major legal disputes and continues its multi-year restructuring, leading to a group notional baseline credit assessment of baa2.

Fitch might downgrade CA

Fitch Ratings said it placed the BBB+ ratings for CA, Inc.'s long-term issuer default rating and its other ratings on rating watch negative.

The agency said the action follows the company's announcement to be acquired by Broadcom Ltd. for $18 billion in an all cash transaction.

Fitch said the ratings reflect CA's stand-alone credit profile, while the rating watch negative reflects the incremental debt the merged entity would need to incur to finance the transaction that will result in higher leverage than CA's current standalone leverage.

The agency said it also considers the uncertainties around the strategic values of the merger.

S&P rates Energy Transfer preferreds BB

S&P said it assigned its BB issue-level rating to Energy Transfer Partners LP's series D fixed-to-floating rate cumulative redeemable perpetual preferred units.

The partnership intends to use the net proceeds to repay amounts outstanding under its revolving credit facility and for general partnership purposes.

The issuer credit rating on the company is BBB-, and the outlook is stable, S&P said.

Fitch rates Energy Transfer preferreds BB

Fitch Ratings said it assigned a BB preferred equity rating to Energy Transfer Partners, LP's proposed offering of series D perpetual preferred units.

The agency said the company’s ratings reflect the size and scale of its operations, which offer both business line diversity and geographic diversity, with operations spanning most major domestic production basins.

The ratings also consider the company’s current high adjusted leverage, the agency added.

Fitch said it expects this leverage to improve as projects are completed and capital spending moderates.

Additional concerns include construction and regulatory risks, volumetric risks, structural subordination to subsidiary debt and uncertainties resulting from potential future structural changes, Fitch said.

Moody’s rates Energy Transfer preferreds Ba2

Moody's Investors Service said it assigned a Ba2 rating to Energy Transfer Partners, LP's proposed series D fixed-to-floating cumulative redeemable perpetual preferred units.

The Baa3 senior unsecured rating, the Ba1 junior subordinated notes rating and the P-3 commercial paper rating were not affected by the action, the agency said.

The outlook is negative.

“The proposed preferred units are rated Ba2, two notches below ETP's Baa3 senior unsecured rating, reflecting their subordination to all of the company's existing senior unsecured notes, its unsecured revolving credit facility and its subordinated notes,” Moody’s said in a news release.

DBRS: Banco de Sabadell trend now positive

DBRS said it confirmed Banco de Sabadell SA’s ratings, including the long-term issuer rating of BBB (high), the short-term issuer rating of R-1 (low), the long term critical obligations rating (COR) of A, and the short-term COR of R-1 (low).

The trend on the long-term ratings and the short-term COR has been changed to positive, whereas the trend on the short-term ratings, except for the short-term COR, remain stable.

The bank’s intrinsic assessment remains at BBB (high), and the support assessment remains SA3.

“The confirmation of the ratings and the change of trend to positive reflects the group’s sound capitalisation and continued improvement in asset quality and core profitability in Spain,” DBRS said in a news release.

S&P revises Pershing Square view to stable

S&P said it revised the outlook on Pershing Square Holdings Ltd. to stable from negative and affirmed the BBB issuer credit ratings and senior unsecured ratings on the fund.

“The revision to stable reflects PSH's improved investment performance after a tumultuous three-year period that likely impaired the fund's reputation and ability to raise new capital. We believe the fund has returned to what it refers to as its ‘core investment principles,’ which includes investing in simple, predicative cash-flow-generating businesses with strong barriers to entry and limited exposure to extrinsic factors that they cannot control,” S&P said in a news release.

Fitch affirms CDP RETI

Fitch Ratings said it affirmed CDP RETI SpA's long-term issuer default rating and senior unsecured rating at BBB.

The outlook is stable.

The agency said the rating mainly reflects the quality of CDP RETI's underlying assets, Snam SpA (BBB+/stable), Terna SpA (BBB+/stable) and Italgas SpA (BBB+/stable), the amount of debt at CDP RETI's level and the company's investment policy.

“CDP RETI has both features of an investment holding and of a parent company and we look at dividend coverage and leverage at holding company level, but also at pro forma proportionally consolidated leverage,” Fitch said in a news release.

Fitch affirms EFG

Fitch Ratings said it affirmed the long-term issuer default ratings of EFG International AG and EFG Bank AG at A with a negative outlook and their viability ratings at a.

“EFG's and EFG Bank's ratings reflect the group's intrinsic strength, which we assess on a consolidated basis as both entities' credit profiles cannot be meaningfully disentangled,” the agency said in a news release.

“This is because their highly cohesive strategy, governance and risk management result in ordinary support being available to EFG Bank from other group companies.

“The equalisation of both entities' ratings also takes into account EFG's role as holding company and our expectation that double leverage (which increased to 122% at end-2017 following BSI's integration) will rapidly revert to its historical level of close to 100% once capital allocation within the group has been optimised.”

Fitch affirms Quest Diagnostics

Fitch Ratings said it affirmed Quest Diagnostics Inc.'s ratings, including its long-term issuer default rating at BBB.

“Quest is the largest independent player, as measured by segment revenues, in the relatively fragmented and highly competitive U.S. clinical laboratory market,” the agency said in a news release.

“Such scale affords the opportunity for efficient operations and sourcing of supplies as well as the ability to drive associated margin improvement following M&A.

“These advantages should allow DGX to improve its cost position, which is a competitive advantage given the prominence that pricing plays in customer decisions.”

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