I was checking out an article over at GuruFocus on companies that have recently raised their dividend payments to shareholders. The Gap, Inc. (GPS) was on the list. I decided to take a brief look at the stock's current status.

At the time of this writing, shares of the retailer were off fractionally, priced at a quote of $21.44. The 52-week low for the shares is $16.62 while the 52-week high is $26.34. Don't you hate that? The stock is basically stuck in the middle of the range. So which way is it going to go?

Analyst Upgrades

• Wells Fargo (WFC) to conviction buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Adobe (ADBE) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• Vail Resorts (MTN) and Goldcorp (GG) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• OmniVision (OVTI) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Penn Virginia (PVA) to hold from sell at Canaccord.
• Hub Group (HUBG) to outperform from market perform at Morgan Keegan.

Analyst Upgrades

• Research In Motion (RIMM) to buy from sell and Gap (GPS) to hold from sell at Citigroup.
• Archer Daniels (ADM) and Airgas (ARG) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• NCR Corp. (NCR) to conviction buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Valero Energy (VLO) to top pick from sector perform and Western Refining (WNR) to outperform from underperform at RBC Capital.
• Fred's (FRED) to overweight from neutral at JP Morgan.
• Marsh & McLennan (MMC), Willis Group (WSH) and Brown & Brown (BRO) to equal weight from underweight at Barclays.
• Host Hotels (HST) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• La-Z-Boy (LZB) to strong buy from market perform at Raymond James.

Analyst Upgrades

• Diamond Offshore (DO) to conviction buy from sell and Baker Hughes (BHI) to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Frontier Communications (FTR) to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• Syntel (SYNT) to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo, to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank and to buy from neutral at Janney Capital.
• Kulicke & Soffa (KLIC) and Fiserv (FISV) to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer.
• 3M (MMM) to neutral from underweight and Tyco (TYC) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Collective Brands (PSS) and Nordstrom (JWN) to overweight from equal weight, as well as Foot Locker (FL) to equal weight from underweight, at Morgan Stanley.
• Amazon.com (AMZN) to buy from hold at Lazard Capital.
• Yamana Gold (AUY) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.

Thursday afternoon, Gap (GPS) reported that its third-quarter earnings increased 9% compared to a year ago.

In the most recent quarter, the retailer earned 48 cents per diluted share compared to 44 cents per diluted share a year ago. The company's net earnings dropped 1% to $303 million from $307 million a year ago. The company's net sales increased 2% to $3.65 billion, up from $3.59 billion a year ago. Furthermore, the company's operating income increased a percentage point to $504 million from $500 million a year ago.

Aeropostale (ARO), a mall chain with colleagues like American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) and Gap (GPS), reported same-store sales for the month of September this week. They seemed relatively decent to me, even though they didn't measure up to the previous year's performance.

Last month, the company saw a 3% expansion in the metric, according to the press release. By comparison, same-store sales rose 19% in September 2009. Hey, don't fret about it. You're not going to generate growth like that all the time; it just doesn't happen. A 3% increase is fine considering the economy. On a year-to-date basis, comps are higher by 4% versus a gain of 12% in last year's similar frame.

Fashion firm Gap (GPS) has had its fair share of struggles recently -- what with the economic crisis and all, not many people want to dish out a lot of money for khakis and tight sweaters. In recent months, Gap has seen sales cool and reported that same-store sales dropped 4% during the second quarter.

So, what do you do with the holiday shopping season approaching and sales slumping? Do you drop prices across the board to try and attract more shoppers? Do you advertise these new prices so cash-strapped college kids know they can now get their khakis and button-ups cheaper? No. The brand geniuses over at the Gap decide this is time to replace the companies iconic blue box logo with something a bit more modern.

Tech is alive, retail is not dead, wholesale inventory didn't kill us, and M&A continues. What double-dip recession? The markets were all in positive territory until the end of the day and the final decision between red and black on the day was not a known certainty until the final minutes. Gold hit a new all-time high as uncertainty and risk still reigns.

Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow Jones 10,526.49 -17.64 (-0.17%)
S&P 500 1,121.10 -0.80 (-0.07%)
Nasdaq 2,289.77 +4.06 (0.18%)

Top Analyst Calls

Analyst Upgrades

• Wells Fargo upgraded Gap (GPS) to outperform from market perform, citing valuation and expectations for EPS to grow in FY11. The firm thinks consensus estimates are achievable and has a $20 to $22 target valuation range for shares.
• BMO Capital upgraded Abercrombie (ANF) to outperform from market perform and has a $43 target on the stock. The firm believes Abercrombie's domestic business is turning and that the company is beginning to take share from competitors.
• Piper Jaffray upgraded Codexis (CDXS) to overweight from neutral as it believes Shell's (RDS.A) biofuel commercialization plans and a potential carbon capture partnership present near-term catalysts for the stock. The firm upped its target for shares to $12 from $11.
• Tortoise Energy Capital (TYY) and Tortoise Energy (TYG) were upgraded to buy from hold at Wunderlich.
• Comerica (CMA) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Baird.
• Methanex (MEOH) was upgraded to strong buy from outperform at Raymond James.

Aeropostale, Inc. (ARO), a mall retailer whose related companies include American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) and The Gap Inc. (GPS), was down this afternoon as the market digested the Q2 numbers that were released yesterday after the bell. With a little over two hours to go before the end of the session, shares of the business were off by 2.5% to $22.64. Volume, so far, was below average.

Perhaps the fact that the volume was relatively slow in coming is a good sign. Maybe the net-income stat is an even better sign. As the press release glowingly reports, earnings per share jumped 21% to 46 cents per share.

American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) has hit a 52-week low. American Eagle is a retailer whose colleagues include Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF) and The Gap Inc. (GPS), and it is down well over 3% to $12.15 as I write this during the afternoon trading session. That share price is significant, because the 52-week low on the stock is $12.15 (so far), and the low was made today.

As we all know, 52-week lows are interesting because they could signal that it's time to buy. They're risky, though, because you don't want to be catching falling knives. You have to figure out what's been driving the decline and why you might want to suddenly become a contrarian on the thesis.

According to this item, Macy's, Inc. (M), a retailer whose colleagues include The Gap Inc. (GPS) and Kohl's Corporation (KSS), received a gift today from Morgan Stanley in the form of an upgrade. The shares have been moved up to the overweight designation. Looks like good things may be in store for the chain.

I recently discussed Macy's Q1 earnings. Now, if you check that piece out, you'll see that I'm not a fan of buying the company to hold for years. If I wanted to do that, I would go with something like Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT), maybe Target Corporation (TGT).

J. Crew Group (JCG), a mall entity whose neighbors include Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF), Gap (GPS), and JCPenney (JCP), has been trending higher over the last twelve months. Unfortunately, it is no longer near its 52-week high of $50.96. The shares closed at a price of $43.86 on Thursday. Is the recent pullback a possible buying opportunity?

Interestingly enough, Elizabeth Harrow, in a story previewing yesterday's after-the-bell earnings report, mentioned Wall Street's current discouraging attitude about the retailer. This will obviously make some investors hesitant to buy the stock. Yet, I remember how the company issued a great fourth-quarter summary back in March. At the time, I said taking profits might not be such a bad idea, and that there was nothing in the rulebook that said you couldn't check in on the business at a later date. Well, the later date is here. What should we think now?

Below are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage on BloggingStocks. Click through to the original posts for more details.

• Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF) shares sold off after it posted a narrower Q1 net loss, but same-store sales rose.
• Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) swung from a year-ago loss to a Q2 profit that was better than expected.
• Deere & Co. (DE) reported better-than-expected Q2 earnings and improved sales, and raised its full-year outlook.
• Dell Inc. (DELL) posted better-than-expected Q1 earnings, but the gross margin was disappointing, and shares fell.
• GameStop Corp. (GME) higher Q1 earnings beat consensus estimates but same-store sales declined.
• Gap Inc. (GPS) said its higher Q1 earnings beat expectations while revenue fell in line with estimates.

Starbucks (SBUX) announced recently that it is hanging its hopes on a lower-priced coffee line under its Seattle's Best brand. But investors who were excited about this news have gotten a cold bucket of water thrown on them by a seemingly innocuous move: A logo change.

The public, however, overwhelmingly seems to think Starbucks should try again, at least according to one online poll by the Seattle Times. And readers have levied criticism that includes likening the logo to "Seattle's Best Blood Bank," among other quips.