Analyst upgrades:

• Oppenheimer upgraded FTI Consulting (NYSE:FCN) to Outperform from Perform on expectations the stock will outperform in the second half of 2009 due to easier comparisons and a "deeper and longer" restructuring cycle. The firm has a $62 target on shares.
• Citigroup upgraded Cigna (NYSE:CI) to Hold from Sell to reflect reduced balance sheet risk following the company's capital raise and the potential for a PBM sale. The firm raised its target price to $23 from $13.
• Goldman expects Coca-Cola Enterprises (NYSE:CCE) to benefit from favorable soda demand and lower commodity costs. The firm upgraded shares to Conviction Buy from Buy and has a $20 target on the stock.
• Novellus (NASDAQ:NVLS) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Bank of America/Merrill.
• CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) was upgraded at JP Morgan to Neutral from Underweight.
• Allegiant (NASDAQ:ALGT) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.
  

Analyst upgrades:

• Jefferies upgraded Home Depot (NYSE: HD) to Buy from Hold as they expect significant multiple expansion as earnings revisions start to bottom out and the market starts to factor in a recovery. The firm raised its price target to $24 from $18-$20.
  
• Goldman upgraded HSBC (NYSE: HBC) to Neutral from Sell and removed the stock from their Asia Pacific Sell List given the company's plans to stop making new loans at its U.S. unit.
  
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Ensco International (NYSE: ESV) to Hold from Sell on valuation as it believes weakening shallow water demand is priced into shares at current levels. The firm raised its target price to $32 from $30.
• Liberty Global (NASDAQ: LBTYA) was raised to Equal Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley.
  
• UnitedHealth (NYSE: UNH) was lifted to Outperform from Market Perform at Bernstein.

By Michael Vodicka, analyst, Zacks Investment Research.

It has been exceptionally challenging this year for many companies to grow their earnings, as a number of factors continue to wreak havoc on normally profitable business models.

Higher energy costs have been squeezing almost every company's margins, none more significantly than the airline and auto industries. Raw materials costs continue to climb as large, developing nations like India and China compete for a limited supply of natural resources.

To make matters worse, the credit markets have locked up, making it very difficult for companies to secure the funding and capital so desperately needed to drive growth.

Help On The Way

But when the going gets tough, these companies know they can call upon a trusted ally to provide shelter from the storm. And that help comes in the form of consultants.

With substantial amounts of financial and reputational stress circulating through the economy, consultants are increasingly being called upon to provide a steady hand. These companies have seen a direct up tick in their business volumes as distressed companies search for methods to cut costs and save face.

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

• Astec Industries Inc. (NASDAQ: ASTE) beat expectations and raised its guidance.
• Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE: BBI) fourth-quarter profit fails to offset the full-year loss.
• China Techfaith Wireless Communication Technology (NASDAQ: CNTF) beat analysts' expectations.
• Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) met analysts' estimates, buoyed by higher fuel prices.
• FTI Consulting Inc. (NYSE: FCN) beat expectations and raised its full-year guidance.
• H&R Block Inc. (NYSE: HRB) narrowed its loss due to higher sales and smaller subprime losses.
• Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc. (NYSE: JTX) missed estimates as third-quarter profits declined sharply.
• LifeCell Corp. (NASDAQ: LIFC) beat fourth-quarter estimates and offered full-year guidance.
• Marvell Technology Group (NASDAQ: MRVL) lowered its first-quarter forecast , sending shares lower.
• Porsche AG (OTC: PSEPF) profit soared on strong sales of its Cayenne.
• S1 Corp. (NASDAQ: SONE) beat expectations and offered full-year guidance.
• Saks Inc. (NYSE: SKS) fourth-quarter profit nearly doubled, but full-year profit declined.
• Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ:URBN) beat expectations on strength in same-store sales.
• Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) reports strong same-store sales ahead of its quarterly results.

Also, see Timothy Sykes's take on Warren Buffett's annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) shareholders. Zac Bissonnette is interested in where earnings actually come from. And Saks, Costco, and other retailers saw stronger February same-store sales despite recession concerns, but JC Penney Co. (NYSE: JCP) didn't feel the love.

Upcoming results to watch for include Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), Boston Beer Co. (NYSE: SAM), J. Crew Group Inc. (NYSE: JCG), Jones Soda Co. (NASDAQ: JSDA), Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX), and Men's Wearhouse Inc. (NYSE: MW).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

FTI Consulting (NYSE: FCN) provides forensic/litigation services to major corporations, financial institutions and law firms. Company experts offer investigative services to firms facing fraud, disclosure, and malpractice issues, to assist them in their legal defense or pursuit of recoveries. FTI also serves its clients with expert testimony and corporate restructuring services. In addition, FTI offers economic consulting and advises clients on merger & acquisition deals and regulatory matters. The firm serves more than 1,000 clients through about 30 offices in the US, the UK and the Asia/Pacific region.

The company pleased investors last week, when it reported Q4 EPS of 60 cents and revenues of $280.5 million. Analysts had been expecting 58 cents and $260.2 million. Management also guided FY08 EPS to $2.40-$2.50 ($2.36 consensus) and FY08 revenues to $1.27-$1.30 billion ($1.15B consensus). Stifel Nicolaus and Boenning & Scattergood subsequently reiterated "buy" and "market outperform" ratings on the issue, respectively.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Best Buy, Circuit City and FTI Consulting were today's noteworthy initiations:

• Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) and Circuit City (NYSE:CC) were initiated with Hold ratings and a $45-$47 and $3.50-$4.50 target, respectively, at Jefferies. The firm expects shares to be range bound as the company struggles with its turnaround and investor concerns about pressure on big ticket consumer purchases persists.
  
• FTI Consulting (NYSE:FCN) was initiated with an Outperform at William Blair. The firm believes the company is well-positioned in the high-growth derivatives market and has attractive financial characteristics.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Thomas Weisel started Micrel (NASDAQ:MCRL) with an Overweight rating and $9 target.
  
• Ceva (NASDAQ:CEVA) was started with an Outperform rating and $13 target at RBC Capital.
  
• Verisign (NASDAQ:VRSN) was initiated with a Hold rating and $35 target at Stifel.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Banco Santander, Solera, FTI Consulting and Blue Coat Systems were today's noteworthy initiations:

• Societe Generale expects the Banco Santander's (NYSE: STD) strong organic growth in earnings to continue with the purchase of ABN Amro's (NYSE: ABN) assets in Brazil and Italy, starting shares off with a Buy rating. Shares were started at Merrill Lynch with a Neutral rating.
  
• William Blair initiated Solera Holdings (NYSE: SLH) with an Outperform rating, as they believe underlying trends for auto insurance claims are favorable.
  
• FTI Consulting (NYSE: FCN) was initiated at Deutsche Bank, as they believe the company is positioned to sustain double-digit growth, and with a Buy rating and $65 target and at Goldman with a Neutral rating and $62 target.
  
• Pacific Crest initiated Blue Coat Systems (NASDAQ: BCSI) with a Sector Perform rating on valuation and estimates fair value at $50/share.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• BNP Paribas started shares of China Netcom (NYSE: CN) and China Telecom (NYSE: CHA) with Buy ratings and China Mobile Limited (NYSE: CHL) with a Hold rating.
  
• Cosan Limited (NYSE: CZZ) was initiated with a Neutral rating at Goldman.
  
• Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ: MEOH) was started at HSBC with an Overweight rating.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Encore Energy, Corporate Executive Board, FTI Consulting and Great Lakes Dredge were today's noteworthy initiations:

• Stanford believes shares of Encore Energy Partners LP (NYSE: ENP) are reasonably valued, and started shares with a Hold rating and $20.50 target.
• The Corporate Executive Board Company (NASDAQ: EXBD) was initiated with a Neutral at Baird, as they have concerns regarding the slowing economy near-term.
• Baird also started shares of FTI Consulting Inc (NYSE: FCN) with an Outperform rating and a $64 target, as they believe the company is well-positioned for continued strong growth driven by positive macro demand and specific company drivers.
• Banc of America initiated Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Corporation (NASDAQ: GLDD) with a Neutral rating and $10 target. The firm believes near-term visibility is closed by an unsettled Army Corps/domestic funding policy and is looking for a more attractive valuation.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• Jefferies initiated Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE: WMT) and BJ's Wholesale Club Inc (NYSE: BJ) with Buy ratings and a $58 target and $46 target and shares of Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) and Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST) with Hold ratings and a $62-$65 target and $66-$69 target, respectively.
• Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ: CSCO) was initiated with an Outperform rating at Wachovia.

Wall Street's equity market offers a full schedule this week, with 8 IPOs and 5 Secondaries on the docket.

Those deals tentatively scheduled to price include:

IPOs:

Possible

• Merrion Pharmaceuticals (MERR), a 4M-share IPO for this pharmaceuticals company. Punk Zeigel is the lead manager. Filing range: $10.00-$12.00.

Early Week

• Liberty Acquisition (LIA), an 86.25M-share IPO for this reorganization services company. Citigoup is the lead manager.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: The business services sector, Monster, Robert Half International and Javelin were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Merrill Lynch lowered their estimates on the majority of business services stocks they cover to reflect the potential for a recession in the U.S. To reflect the lowered estimates, Merrill downgraded FTI Consulting (NYSE: FCN) and Korn/Ferry International (NYSE: KFY) to Sell from Neutral, Heidrick & Struggles (NASDAQ: HSII) to Sell from Buy and Manpower Inc (NYSE: MAN) to Neutral from Buy.
  
• UBS downgraded shares of Monster Worldwide Inc (NASDAQ: MNST) and Robert Half International (NYSE: RHI) to Neutral from Buy and Heidrick & Struggles and Korn/Ferry to Sell from Neutral.
  
• JP Morgan removed shares of Javelin Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: JAV) from its Focus List following the recent share price decline given their stop-out rule. The firm continues to have a high conviction for the company's three unpartnered late-stage products and maintained its Overweight rating.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Hambrecht downgraded shares of Gateway Incorporated (NYSE: GTW) to Hold from Buy.
  
• Deutsche Bank downgraded shares of Kaydon Corporation (NYSE: KDN) to Hold from Buy.
  
• Goldman Sachs lowered Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) to Sell from Neutral.
  
• Bernstein downgraded Dominion Resources (NYSE: D) to Market Perform from Outperform.
  
• Research in Motion Limited (NASDAQ: RIMM) was downgraded at Bear Stearns to Peer Perform from Outperform.

It's a complex business environment and managers can sometimes use outside help with important investigations, high-stakes litigation, and overall corporate performance issues. There is an outfit in Baltimore known for its expertise along those lines.

FTI Consulting (NYSE: FCN) provides forensic/litigation services to major corporations, financial institutions and law firms. Company experts offer investigative services to firms facing fraud, disclosure, and malpractice issues, to assist them in their legal defense or pursuit of recoveries. FTI also serves its clients with expert testimony and corporate restructuring services. In addition, FTI offers economic consulting and advises clients on merger & acquisition deals and regulatory matters. The firm serves more that 1,000 clients through about 30 offices in the US, the UK and the Asia/Pacific region.

The company pleased investors earlier in the month, when it reported Q2 EPS of 53 cents and revenues of $239.7 million. Analysts had been expecting 44 cents and $222.86 million. Management also guided FY07 EPS to $1.92-2.00 ($1.81 consensus) and FY07 revenues to $944-962 million ($922.41M consensus).

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Time Warner Cable , Solera Holdings (SLH) and BioDel (BIOD) filled this morning's initiation list:

• Wachovia is positive on Time Warner Cable's (NYSE: TWC) competitive position, growth opportunities and valuation, starting shares off with an Outperform rating...

• Solera (NYSE: SLH) was initiated at Deutsche Bank and Citigroup with a Hold rating; Goldman started Solera with a Buy rating and JP Morgan initiated shares with an Overweight rating...

• BioDel (NASDAQ: BIOD) was initiated at Banc of America with a Buy rating, as the company's proprietary technology Viadel enables faster uptake of insulin that more closely mimic's the body's natural first phase insulin response. Leerink started shares with an Outperform and Morgan Stanley initiated shares with an Overweight rating...

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• UBS started Under Armour (NYSE: UA) with a Buy rating.

• Pinnacle Gas Resources (NASDAQ: PINN) was initiated with a Sector Perform rating at RBC Capital.

• FTI Consulting (NYSE: FCN) was initiated with a Buy rating at Stifel.

• UBS initiated Tyco International (NYSE: TYC) with a Buy rating.

• A.S.V. Inc (NASDAQ: ASVI) was initiated with a Buy rating at Oppenheimer.

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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Rudolph Technologies, Inc (RTEC), DirecTV Group, Inc (DTV), EchoStar Communications (DISH) and Legacy Reserves LP (LGCY) were today's more noteworthy initiations:

• AG Edwards started Rudolph Technologies, Inc (NASDAQ: RTEC) with a Buy rating, believing Rudolph's acquisition of August Technologies created additional market opportunities and recommends investors to build positions at these levels to participate in future growth.

• Stifel initiated DirecTV Group, Inc (NYSE: DTV) with a Buy rating and $28 target and EchoStar Communications (NASDAQ: DISH) with a Hold rating and $45 target. The firm prefers DirectTV to EchoStar given DirectTV's faster growing Latin America division, coming HD advantage, and greater likelihood of buybacks and views a merger between DISH & DTV as possible longer-term.

• Legacy Reserves (NASDAQ: LGCY) was started with a Buy rating at Oppenheimer, expecting Legacy to grow through acquisitions.
  

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• CIBC initiated FTI Consulting, Inc (NYSE: FCN) and Advisory Board Co (NASDAQ: ABCO) with Sector Outperformer ratings, and a $45 target and $62 target, respectively, and Resources Connection, Inc (NASDAQ: RECN) and Corporate Executive Board Co (NASDAQ: EXBD) with Sector Performer ratings.

• Chiquita Brands International, Inc (NYSE: CQB) was initiated with a Buy rating at Morgan Joseph.

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