Moog Inc.’s credit rating was cut a notch by Standard&Poor’s Corp., as the recession cuts into the Elma aerospace company’s key industrial and commercial aerospace markets, the ratings agency said Wednesday.

S&P, in reducing Moog’s corporate credit rating to BB from its old rating of BB+, also cited concerns about the company’s higher debt levels, which have grown as the firm has made a string of acquisitions since December. The company this spring reduced its sales and earnings forecast.

Moog’s credit rating, which can influence a company’s borrowing costs, is two notches below investment grade.

Analyst Christopher DeNicolo said Moog’s credit position could improve modestly next year if its key aerospace, medical and industrial markets stabilize and the company makes fewer acquisitions. But he also warned that a major acquisition or worse-than-expected weakness in its main markets could cast a negative light on the company’s debt rating.