Analyst Upgrades

• Tyco Electronics (TEL) and Weight Watchers (WTW) to buy from neutral, and Smithfield Foods (SFD) to buy from underperform, at BofA/Merrill.
• Red Hat (RHT) to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
• Gold Fields (GFI) to overweight from neutral at HSBC.
• Novartis (NVS) to outperform from neutral and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to neutral from underperform at Credit Suisse.
• Dollar General (DG) to buy from hold at ThinkEquity.
• Eagle Rock Energy (EROC) to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.

The Federal Reserve's next Beige Book report is scheduled to be released this week. This report is a compilation of anecdotal information on current economic conditions from each of the 12 Federal Reserve Bank districts, and it is released eight times a year. The data comes from interviews with business contacts, economists, market experts, and other sources. The June report is expected to show strengthening signs of expansion, though results could be mixed across the 12 districts.

Economic data due out this week include:

Analyst Upgrades

• Apollo Group (APOL) was upgraded to sector perform from underperform at RBC Capital. The firm has a $75 target on the stock.
• JPMorgan raised Westlake Chemical (WLK) to overweight from neutral.
• Morgans Hotel (MHGC) was upgraded to outperform from market perform at JMP Securities.

Most of the S&P 500 have reported earnings results this quarter, but on tap this week are Brown-Forman Corp. (BF.B), National Semiconductor Corp. (NSM) and Pall Corp. (PLL), which are expected to post earnings growth, as well as H&R Block Inc. (HRB) and Kroger Co. (KR), which are not.

Most of the high expectations from analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are still with retailers this week, though. Here's a look at a few of them.

Is it time to take a bite out of Apple, Inc (AAPL) or leave it on the vine? After reviewing the current list by examining the stock yields and price-to-cash flow (P/CF) we will take a look at Apple for 2010.

Yesterday I dropped two stocks, but the list is still too long. In the coming weeks there will be more cuts and if I find anything of more value perhaps there will be something new.

In Part 6, we're going back for seconds: our second alcohol company, energy company and medical company. The reasons should be apparent, but in case they aren't: I think all three are essential -- maybe alcohol more than the other two. Ironically alcohol can be substituted for the other two, and often has been.

All three companies are well-established and U.S. based, lead their respective industries, have top flight management in the judgment of their peers and the investment community, pay dividends and have a long history of high return-on-equity.

Analyst Upgrades

• Citigroup upgraded Reynolds American (RAI) to buy from hold to reflect its improved outlook for the company's market share and pricing. Citi also sees a greater chance of British American Tobacco (BTI) bidding for the rest of Reynolds American it doesn't already own. The firm raised its target price on Reynolds to $59 from $52.
• Stephens upgraded Simmons First National (SFNC) to overweight from equal weight to reflect the company's balance sheet and potential for accretive FDIC-assisted acquisitions. The firm raised its target on shares to $32 from $29.
• FBR Capital upgraded Astoria Financial (AF) to market perform from underperform on expectations the company's net charge-offs will peak in the fourth quarter, limiting downside risk. The firm raised its target on shares to $11 from $10.
• First Solar (FSLR) was upgraded to buy from hold at Collins Stewart.
• Brown-Forman (BF.B) was upgraded to neutral from underweight at JPMorgan.
• Juniper (JNPR) was upgraded to conviction buy from buy at Goldman.

Here are some highlights from last week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) earnings prospects and declining sales resulted in a downgrade.
• America's Car-Mart Inc. (NASDAQ: CRMT) stronger-than-expected Q1 results led shares to a four-year high.
• ArcSight Inc. (NASDAQ: ARST) reported strong Q1 numbers on increasing demand for cyber security.
• Brown-Forman Inc. (NYSE: BF.B) Q1 results easily topped expectations despite a decline in revenue.
• Ciena Corp. (NASDAQ: CIEN) posted a Q3 loss but revenue improved sequentially, and shares rose.

Brown-Forman (NYSE: BF.B), a distributor of alcoholic products, including the iconic Jack Daniel's brand, reported results for the fourth quarter on Wednesday. According to Reuters, Brown-Forman did all right for itself.

The top line saw a decline of 12%, but the bottom line did a lot better, coming in at 53 cents per share. It's not that the per-share profit generated was bigger than last year; it wasn't. But the 53 cents beat Wall Street's view on what the company was capable of delivering. The market thought that 49 cents would be the limit of Brown-Forman's success.

Brown-Forman Corporation (NYSE: BF.B) is engaged in the manufacture, bottling and marketing of alcoholic beverages. It provides whiskies, bourbons, wines, tequila, liqueurs, vodka, rum, gin and ready-to-drink products, under a variety of well-known brand names. Spirit products include Jack Daniel's, Canadian Mist, Early Times and Southern Comfort. Wine labels include Bolla, Fetzer, Bel Arbor and Five Rivers. The company's beverages are sold in more than 130 countries. Diageo (NYSE: DEO) and Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ) are major competitors.

The firm pleased investors last week, when it reported Q4 EPS of 81 cents and revenues of $772.3 million. Analysts had been looking for 69 cents and $751.2 million. Management also guided FY09 EPS to $3.73-$3.98 ($3.84 consensus). The outlook incorporated expectations for continued international growth and anticipated increases in fuel and raw material costs.

The fourth quarter turned out to be a good one for National Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: NSM) and Brown-Forman Corp. (NYSE: BF.B), producer of Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey. On Thursday, both companies reported results that beat Wall Street forecasts.

For the quarter ended May 5, National Semiconductor, the Santa Clara, Calif.-based chip maker, reported net income of $83.2 million, or 34 cents per share. Revenue rose to $462 million from $455.9 million in the year-ago period.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected income of 26 cents per share on revenue of $449.5 million.

For the full fiscal year, National Semiconductor recorded net income of $332.3 million, or $1.26 per share, and revenue slipped to $1.89 billion from $1.93 billion.

The company also forecast fiscal first-quarter revenue of $460 million to $475 million, compared to analysts' expectations of $451.2 million.

Shares of National Semiconductor rose 78 cents, or 3.6%, to close at $22.66, and climbed another $2.13, or 9.4% in after-hours trading.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Caterpillar Inc (CAT), Movie Gallery (MOVI), Cache, Inc (CACH) and Manor Care, Inc (HCR) were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• UBS downgraded shares of Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) to Reduce from Neutral and lowered their target to $70 from $78 to reflect decelerating revenues in the company's core businesses, global capacity additions in construction machinery, competitive concerns and valuation.

• Soleil downgraded Movie Gallery (NASDAQ: MOVI) to Sell from Hold following comments after yesterday's close about missing certain debt covenants.

• Suntrust downgraded shares of Cache (NASDAQ: CACH) to Neutral from Buy citing the company's attempt to reconstruct itself in a difficult economic period with tough comps and in a waning trend cycle.

• Manor Care (NYSE: HCR) was cut to Market Perform from Outperform at Wachovia, citing the acquisition by the Carlyle Group. Soleil cut Manor Care to Hold from Buy on the news...

• UBS downgraded BG Group (NYSE: BRG) to Neutral from Buy.

• Roth downgraded MRV Communications (NASDAQ: MRVC) to Hold from Buy.

• Matrix lowered Brown-Forman (NYSE: BF.B) to Hold from Buy.

• JP Morgan cut Liberty International (OTC: LBYIY) to Neutral from Overweight.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).