Analyst Upgrades

• Bristol-Myers (BMY) to hold from underperform at Jefferies.
• Pep Boys (PBY) to buy from hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
• Tesla Motors (TSLA) to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
• Emerson (EMR) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• ARM Holdings (ARMH) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• NetLogic (NETL) and Cavium Networks (CAVM) to buy from hold at Auriga.
• Aimco (AIV) to hold from sell at Citigroup.
• Ceragon Networks (CRNT) to overweight from equal weight at Barclays.

Quarterly reports from Oracle (ORCL), Discover (DFS) and Tiffany (TIF) will highlight news on the earnings front this week.

Elsewhere on the economic calendar, the focus will be on housing, with existing home sales data due from the National Association of Realtors on Monday, new home sales numbers from the Census Bureau on Wednesday and data on housing starts released on Thursday.

Also watch for durable goods orders in February and the final GDP for the fourth quarter.

H.J. Heinz Company (HNZ), a food concern famous for its ketchup product and whose colleagues include ConAgra (CAG) and Campbell Soup (CPB), closed today's session higher by 1.4%. The final quote of $49.66 isn't far at all from the 52-week high of $50.77. Is the stock a buy?

You know, there's a very interesting element to this story, and it has to do with the dividend yield. Right now, Heinz's yield is 3.6%. That's pretty awesome. You've got take notice of a stock that is both near a 52-week high and possessive of a lofty yield.

The J.M. Smucker Company (SJM), a food concern in the same category as ConAgra Foods (CAG) and Kraft Foods (KFT), issued its fiscal third-quarter report on Thursday. The document wasn't too thrilling, but it shows that the business is holding its own in the competitive battlefield of the supermarket shelves.

Its adjusted profit of $1.27 per share came in ahead of the overall projection by one penny. Not bad, considering the article highlights the challenges of navigating a volatile environment in terms of ingredient costs.

The J.M. Smucker Company (SJM) was down almost 1.4% to $62.15 at the close of the day. Volume was quite heavy. The market voted on the food entity's latest earnings report. Should investors listen to this opinion and immediately put in sell orders?

According to Theflyonthewall, the business, whose colleagues include ConAgra Foods, Inc. (CAG) and Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT), made an adjusted $1.38 per share during its fiscal second quarter. That was six solid pennies ahead of the overall projection. Not only was that beat cool to see, but income guidance for fiscal year 2011 saw an improvement.

Tuesday morning, food-producer ConAgra (CAG) announced that its first-quarter net income fell to 33 cents per share, compared to 37 cents per share a year ago. The earnings were also short of the consensus estimate, which called for earnings of 39 cents per share. The food firm blames the results on tighter competition, inflation and the sluggish financial situation.

Breaking the numbers down a bit, the company's consumer food segment saw sales drop 2% to $1.82 billion. This facet of CAG's business comprises roughly 65% of the company's revenue. While this segment was making hay while more consumers were eating at home, a drop thanks to discounting in frozen food, table spreads and popcorn led to the poor performance.

Del Monte Food Company's (DLM) stock wasn't one you wanted to be in today. Especially at a time when the bulls are in charge. The company, whose colleagues include ConAgra Foods, Inc. (CAG) and Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT), was down 2.1% to $12.56 about thirty minutes before the close of the session.

First-quarter data was reported by the business this morning. The market obviously wasn't too pleased. According to an article over at TheStreet.com, profit from continuing operations was 29 cents per share. This figure was two pennies above the estimate generated by the analysts. No matter what the traders are doing to the stock, at least shareholders can be happy about that aspect of the period.

The J.M. Smucker Company (SJM), whose related companies include ConAgra Foods, Inc. (CAG) and Kraft Company Inc. (KFT), is rallying this afternoon following an earnings report. With a little more than three hours to go before the closing bell, shares of the business famous for its jelly products were up over 6% to $61.39. Volume should do well.

The 52-week high on the stock is $63.50, so this is one of those stocks that needs to be examined in light of the recent bearish tone of the markets. Although the chart isn't the best out there, I tend to view the relative stability of the equity as a positive element.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage on BloggingStocks:

• Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) reported that Q1 revenue was up but earnings declined sharply, and it offered guidance.
• Best Buy Inc. (BBY) shares rallied after it topped Q4 earnings expectations and offered encouraging guidance.
• Brinker International Inc. (EAT) raised its outlook for fiscal 2010 and also increased its quarterly dividend.
• China Automotive Systems Inc. (CAAS) reported that its revenue had doubled and it beat earnings expectations.
• ConAgra Foods Inc. (CAG) Q3 earnings matched estimates and revenue was flat, and it reaffirmed its outlook.
• Finish Line Inc. (FINL) shares rallied after it reported that Q4 earnings came in better than analysts' expected.

ConAgra Foods (CAG), a company that produces packaged edibles for supermarkets and whose colleagues include Campbell Soup (CPB) and Kraft (KFT), didn't have the kind of quarter you look at and say, "Way to go, management!" It was a boring, steady kind of reporting period.

For the fiscal third quarter, total sales were kind of flat, down a minuscule 0.9%. Earnings from continuing operations on an adjusted basis rose 10% to 44 cents per diluted share. Compared to estimates, that 44-cent stat came in as expected, nothing more, nothing less.

The coming week will bring late-season earnings reports from Best Buy Inc. (BBY), ConAgra Foods Inc. (CAG), Oracle Corp. (ORCL) and Walgreen Co. (WAG), all of which are expected to post earnings and revenue growth, according to analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters. Below is a closer look at a few other companies reporting this week for which expectations are high.

In the three months that ended in January, Williams-Sonoma (WSM) saw strong holiday sales, declared a quarterly dividend, and announced the retirement of its CEO. Analysts expect the San Francisco-based home products retailer to report that fiscal fourth-quarter earnings more than doubled from the same period of last year to $0.74 per share. Revenue for the period is expected to be 6.2% higher to $1.1 billion. For the full year, the forecast calls for earnings of $0.81 per share (+56.8%) on $3.1 billion in revenue (-8.3%). Williams-Sonoma earnings results have been better than expected in recent quarters -- beating consensus estimates by more than 200% in the third quarter.

Here are a few highlights from this past week's earnings coverage on BloggingStocks:

• Cintas Corp. (CTAS) received an analyst's downgrade following its Q2 earnings report.
• ConAgra Foods Inc. (CAG) shares spiked after it posted better-than-expected Q2 earnings.
• Finish Line Inc. (FINL) posted surprise Q3 earnings, ending a streak of quarterly losses.
• Giga Media Ltd. (GIGM) was downgraded due to its disappointing Q2 report and lack of visibility.

Shares of ConAgra Foods Inc. (CAG) rose early Monday morning after the packaged foods giant posted strong fiscal second quarter results and raised its full-year guidance.

The Omaha, Nebraska-based company reported net income of $239.7 million, or $0.54 per share, for the three months that ended in November. That compares with $168.4 million or $0.37 per share in the prior-year quarter. However, net sales for the quarter decreased 2.4% from a year ago to $3.17 billion.

Even in a holiday shortened week so close to the end of the calendar year, there are still some earnings reports dribbling in. Question is, will any of the companies reporting quarterly results this week offer up a gift for investors?

Apropos of the season, analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters have high expectations for American Greetings Corp.'s (AM) fiscal third quarter 2010 earnings. The nation's second largest provider of greeting cards announced record second quarter results and declared a quarterly dividend during the three months that ended in November. American Greetings is expected to report that earnings rose 43.9% from a year ago to $0.66 per share. Revenue for the quarter is expected to total $445.4 million, or 1.9% lower than a year ago. So far, the full-year forecast is for its profit to more than double to $2.00 per share while revenue falls 5.6% from a year ago to $1.6 billion. This Cleveland-based company creamed earnings estimates in the past two quarters.