Coverage on (INTC) (MDAS) (PCG) (PHH) (PMC) Initiated by Analysts

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), MedAssets, INC. (NASDAQ:MDAS), PG&E Corp. (NYSE:PCG), PHH CORPORATION (NYSE:PHH) and PharMerica Corporation (NYSE:PMC) had coverage initiated on them by analysts.

Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) initiated coverage on Intel Corporation (INTC), starting them off with a "Buy" rating. They placed a price target of $27 on the company.

Deutsche Bank initiated coverage on MedAssets, INC. (MDAS), starting them off with a "Hold" rating. They raised their price target from $17.50 to $18 on the company.

Deutsche Bank initiated coverage on PG&E Corp. (PCG), starting them off with a "Hold" rating. They lowered their price target from $49 to $45 on the company.

FBR Capital Markets initiated coverage on PHH CORPORATION (PHH), starting them off with an "Outperform" rating. They placed a price target of $28 on the company.

Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS) initiated coverage on PharMerica Corporation (PMC), starting them off with a "Neutral" rating. They raised their price target from $11 to $12 on the company.

PHH Corp.'s (NYSE:PHH) Mortgage Originations Reach Record $49 Billion

Assuming rates remain stable in the first quarter, says FBR, PHH Corporation (NYSE:PHH) has set itself up for a strong first quarter after a record $49 billion in mortgage originations in the fourth quarter.

FBR says, "On a core basis, PHH missed our estimate because of lower gain-on-sale margins. On a positive note, mortgage originations were a record $49B for the year, implying about $18.5B of originations for 4Q10. At this level, PHH would have taken about 3.2% of the mortgage origination market share in 2010. This should set PHH up for a good quarter in 1Q11 if rates remain stable; this highlights PHH's ability to successfully maintain strong volumes in what is expected to be a tough mortgage market in 2011. We are adjusting our 4Q10 EPS estimate to $3.26 on a GAAP basis and $0.31 following the announcement, but will wait until we get a full release to reassess our FY11 numbers."

FBR Capital maintains an 'Outperform' on PHH Corporation (PHH), which closed Thursday at $24.40, gaining $0.08, or 0.33 percent. FBR has a price target of $28 on PHH.

PHH Corporation's (NYSE:PHH) Operational Fundamentals Remain Intact

PHH Corporation's (NYSE:PHH) fundamental operations appear to be intact, says FBR, and they believe write-up in mortgage servicing rights will be driven significantly higher by higher interest rates.

FBR said, "We believe that the fundamental operations at PHH remain intact, and we expect higher interest rates to drive a significant write-up in mortgage servicing rights (MSR)...In addition, we are revising our 4Q10 GAAP EPS estimate to $2.14 from $0.52, but we are maintaining our 4Q10E operating EPS of $0.52. Our operating earnings estimate indicates that PHH will earn an 11.1% operating TROE in FY10, following 9.6% in FY09, 0.0% in FY08, and –0.9% in FY07. If the company can successfully implement its cost saves and there is at least a subpar economic recovery, we believe PHH can achieve a long-term TROE run-rate close to 13%."

FBR Capital maintains an "Outperform" rating on PHH Corporation, which closed Friday at $24.60, up $0.40, or 1.65 percent. FBR raised their price target on them from $26 to $28.