An evaluation of credit quality of a company's debt issue by Thomson Financial BankWatch, Moody's, S&P, and Fitch Investors Service. investors and analysts use ratings to assess the riskiness of an investment. Ratings can also be an evaluation a country's creditworthiness or ability to repay, taking into consideration its estimated percentage default rate and political risk. Bloomberg Financial Dictionary
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A grade - usually denoted by a letter or series of letters - signifying a security's investment quality. Exchange Handbook Glossary
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rating rat‧ing [ˈreɪtɪŋ] noun
1. [countable] a level on a scale that shows how good, important, or popular something or someone is:
• The President's popularity rating has never been higher.
• The show is several ratings points ahead of its nearest rival.
a measure of the average number of people watching or listening to a TV or radio programme at a particular time
seˈcurity ˌrating [countable]
COMPUTING a measurement of how well a computer or computer network protects private data:
• Windows NT has a C2 security rating.
2. [countable] FINANCE a measurement of the risk of lending to a company etc, calculated by an independent organization called a
Ratings Agency:
• Standard and Poor's downgraded (= reduced ) the rating on Pacific's commercial paper to single-A-3 from single-A-2.
• Moody's upgraded (= improved ) its rating on Disney's senior debt to double-A-3 from single-A-2.
a
credit rating that can be given to a share, bond, or bank by US credit rating agencies such as Standard and Poor's or Moody's, indicating that it is considered to be a very safe investment:
• The bank had AAA debt ratings from both Standard & Poor's and Moody's.
in the US, a measurement of an insurance company's financial strength. The top rating is A+:
• 20% of life insurers hold the top Best rating.
ˈcredit ˌrating [countable] FINANCE
a calculation of a company's or government's financial strength and the risk of it not being able to repay loans or pay suppliers when it should:
• Chrysler's credit rating dropped to junk-bond levels when the company was virtually bankrupt.
• Some analysts believe that Mexico's credit rating will be upgraded (= increased ) to investment grade in the near future.
• Standard & Poor is downgrading (= decreasing ) the credit rating for Sun Alliance Group to double-A-plus from triple-A.
a calculation of the ability of a company or government to pay interest on its debts and to repay them:
• Following the missed payment, Moody's downgraded its debt rating.
• Standard & Poor's has upgraded the debt ratings of Penn Traffic to single-B-minus from triple-C-plus because of improved operating performance.
ˌStandard & ˈPoor's ˌrating [uncountable] FINANCE
the class in which bonds are placed according to the risk involved in investing in them
3. [countable] FINANCE an estimate of the future profitability of investing in a particular company:
• Kidder Peabody recommended Texas Instruments stock, which carries the firm's highest investment rating.
the level of risk of a particular bond not being repaid, or of interest payments not being made:
• If the state continues to overspend, its bond rating could drop to single-A.
a dealer's advice that investors should buy a particular company's shares, and that those who already own some should buy more:
• Medtronic jumped 3¾ to 115 after Dean Witter Reynolds repeated a buy rating on the stock.
a dealer's advice to holders of a particular company's shares telling them not to sell the shares they have, nor to buy any more shares in that company:
• Some believe Goodyear's situation will improve. Morgan Stanley's Mr Merlis, for example, changed his `hold' rating on Goodyear to a `buy'.
seˈcurity ˌrating [countable]
FINANCE a measurement of the risk of investing in a particular company:
• Analysts gave the company a security rating indicating `questionable financial security'.
a dealer's advice to holders of a particular company's shares to sell them:
• The stock came under pressure last week after Goldman Sachs downgraded its rating on the stock while First Boston reiterated (= repeated ) its `sell' rating.
4. also inˈsurance ˌrating [countable] INSURANCE a measurement of the risk of loss, used to calculate how much will be charged for insurance
a special low rate charged by an insurance company for insuring a group of vehicles or ships owned by one company
5. the ratings [plural] a measurement of how many people watch a television programme or listen to a radio programme:
• CBS Evening News slipped to second place in the ratings.
• NBC's ratings dropped 3% in November.
6. [countable] the class in which a ship or machine is placed, according to its size
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rating UK US /ˈreɪtɪŋ/ noun [C or U]
► get/receive/be awarded a rating »
The game was awarded a five-star rating by Gamer magazine.
approval/popularity rating »
The president's approval rating was around 60%.
»
a high/excellent/positive rating
»
a low/poor rating
a 30%/9 point/3-star, etc. rating »
Consumers gave the product a 7.5 point rating on a scale of 1 to 10.
a rating scale/system »
There is currently a voluntary rating system in place for violence on TV.
► FINANCE,
STOCK MARKET »
cut/downgrade/lower a rating
»
raise/lift/upgrade a rating
»
have/maintain a rating
»
A policy condition is that the securities must be rated in the four top rating categories by S&P or Moody's.
► INSURANCE »
The proposed change in the city's flood insurance rating could reduce premiums by 5%.
»
calculate/have/receive a rating
► COMMERCE,
ENVIRONMENT »
These green mortgages are available only to those buying a new home with a high energy efficiency rating.
→
See also AAA(
Cf. ↑
AAA),
AVERAGE AUDIENCE RATING(
Cf. ↑
average audience rating),
BEST'S RATING(
Cf. ↑
Best's rating),
BOND RATING(
Cf. ↑
bond rating)
noun,
BUY RATING(
Cf. ↑
buy rating),
CREDIT RATING(
Cf. ↑
credit rating),
DEBT RATING(
Cf. ↑
debt rating),
FLEET RATING(
Cf. ↑
fleet rating),
HOLD RATING(
Cf. ↑
hold rating),
SECURITY RATING(
Cf. ↑
security rating),
SELL RATING(
Cf. ↑
sell rating),
STANDARD AND POOR'S(
Cf. ↑
Standard and Poor's)