Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: APC, BWA, CCL, KR, NUE, SNDA, TSO ...

Analyst upgrades:

Citigroup upgraded Nucor (NYSE: NUE) to Buy from Hold to reflect its positive outlook for steel and expectations the company will return to profitability in Q4. Citi raised its target price on shares to $57 from $46.
Oppenheimer upgraded Given Imaging (NASDAQ: GIVN) to Outperform from Perform to reflect solid PillCam Colon data and expected margin improvement. The firm has a $25 target on shares.
Deutsche Bank upgraded Genworth (NYSE: GNW) to Buy from Hold following the $600M capital raise as it believes liquidity at the holding company has improved. The firm raised its target on shares to $18 from $7.
Washington Federal (NASDAQ: WFSL) was upgraded to Outperform from Underperform at FBR Capital.
Carnival (NYSE: CCL) was upgraded to Sell from Conviction Sell at Goldman.
Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Weeden.

Analyst downgrades:

KeyBanc downgraded BorgWarner (NYSE: BWA) to Hold from Buy citing Q3 earnings risk. The firm believes negative product mix, lower profitability in Europe, and slow commercial vehicle sales could persist several more quarters.
Deutsche Bank downgraded Shanda (NASDAQ: SNDA) to Sell from Hold on concerns of IPO-related dilution as it believes the GAME spin-out does not warrant a premium. The firm lowered its target on shares to $42 from $50.10.
Soleil downgraded Tesoro (NYSE: TSO) to Sell from Hold on valuation and concerns of declining West Coast refining margins. The firm has a $14 target on the stock.
Goodrich (NYSE: GR) was downgraded to Buy from Conviction Buy at Goldman.
Black & Decker (NYSE: BDK) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS.
Kroger (NYSE: KR) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley.

Analyst initiations:

Jefferies expects Itron (NASDAQ: ITRI) to benefit from significant growth as utility deployments accelerate in 2010. The firm started shares with a Buy rating and $77 target.
RBC Capital believes that Vanguard National's (NYSE: VNR) valuation is attractive, in light of its healthy yield and well-balanced property portfolio. The firm set an Outperform rating and $17 target on the stock.
PNC Financial (NYSE: PNC) was initiated with a Perform rating at Oppenheimer.
Lindsay Corp. (NYSE: LNN) was initiated with a Market Perform rating at William Blair.
Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ: LAMR) was initiated with a Buy rating and $29 target at Lazard Capital.
Synaptics (NASDAQ: SYNA) was initiated with a Buy rating and $35 target at Needham.