"Last March, we featured some counterintuitive advice to buy REITs; that basket of stocks has since doubled in value," notes income specialist Roger Conrad.

The contributing editor to Personal Finance explains, "And while our favorite REITs may not be as cheap as they were 18 months ago, they do offer generous payouts that won't be affected if the Bush tax cuts sunset.

"Not only did our favorite REITs pass the toughest stress test in decades, but they also operate in attractive localities and are flush with cash thanks to recovering equity values and attractive borrowing rates.

Analyst Upgrades

• JPMorgan upgraded Tupperware (TUP) to overweight from neutral, but lowered its price target to $57 from $58. The firm cites valuation and organic growth for the upgrade.
• William Blair upgraded Computer Programs (CPSI) to outperform from market perform. The firm noted that the company's Systems bookings have significantly exceeded its Systems revenue in recent quarters while the firm thinks the company will benefit from accelerated EHR adoption by small hospitals in coming years.
• RBC Capital upgraded Questar (STR) to outperform from sector perform and raised its price target to $49 from $52. The firm believes the separation of QEP Resources from Questar will create shareholder value.
• Pinnacle Financial (PNFP) was upgraded to buy from hold at Wunderlich.
• Power Integrations (POWI) and Volterra (VLTR) were upgraded to strong buy from buy at Needham.
• Realty Income (O) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at Baird.

Analyst upgrades:

• Deutsche Bank upgraded Cemex (NYSE: CX) to Buy from Hold on decreased dilution risk following the company's successful refinancing and raised its target on shares to $15 from $11.20.
• Rochdale upgraded Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) to Buy from Neutral and raised its target to $65. The firm is positive on Wal-Mart's defensive characteristics, cyclical upside, and competitive position.
• JPMorgan upgraded Gartner Group (NYSE: IT) to Overweight from Neutral to reflect stabilization in IT industry spending and the stock's attractive valuation. The firm has a $23 price target on the stock.
• Cavium Networks (NASDAQ: CAVM) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays.
• Borg-Warner (NYSE: BWA) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Nanometrics (NASDAQ: NANO) was upgraded to Outperform from Perform at Oppenheimer.

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

• Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) Q1 earnings were cut almost in half and were lower than expected.
• AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) earnings expectations for 2010 resulted in an analyst's upgrade.
• BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ: BMRN) was downgraded following its Q4 earnings report.
• CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS) beat Q4 earnings expectations but slashed its quarterly dividend.
• Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) posted a smaller-than-expected Q4 loss but sales and gross margins fell.
• Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) Q1 earnings and revenue fell and it offered guidance below estimates.
• Deutsche Telekom (NYSE: DT) was upgraded on confidence ahead of the company's earnings report.
• Hewlett-Packard Corp. (NYSE: HPQ) reported a bigger-than-expected drop in Q1 earnings.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded WebMD (NASDAQ: WBMD) shares to Buy from Hold on valuation following the company's Q4 results and outlook. The firm maintains a $25 target on the stock.
  
• Goldman upgraded Verizon (NYSE: VZ) and AT&T (NYSE: T) to Buy from Neutral based on valuation and expectations for 2010 earnings growth.
• Roth upgraded Maxwell Tech (NASDAQ: MXWL) to Buy from Hold following the company's Q4 results to reflect strong ultracapacitor sales growth and gross margin improvement. The firm maintains a $12 target on the stock.
• Nara Bancorp (NASDAQ: NARA) was raised to Market Perform from Underperform at Friedman Billings.
• Cubic (NYSE: CUB) was upgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan.
  
• Terex (NYSE: TEX) was lifted to Outperform from Market Perform at Wachovia.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded shares of Ball (NYSE: BLL) to Buy from Hold and raised its target to $45 from $41 as they believe recent capacity closures will be positive for beverage can operating rates.
  
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP) to Buy from Hold on valuation and the company's plans to preserve cash.
• ThinkPanmure upgraded Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) to Accumulate from Sell and raised its target to $17 from $12 citing trough earnings in 2009 and lowered expectations.
• Viacom B (NYSE: VIA.B) was added to Goldman's Conviction Buy List.
  
• Telefonica (NYSE: TEF) was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.
  
• Onyx Pharma (NASDAQ: ONXX) was raised to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan.

Analyst downgrades:

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Energizer Holdings, Inc (ENR), Gilead Sciences, Inc (GILD), Intel Corp (INTC) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) were some of today's more noteworthy upgrades:

• Prudential upgraded Energizer Holdings Inc (NYSE: ENR) to Neutral from Underweight. The firm said Energizer has been overly focused on the negative potential of cost inflation without fully appreciating the positive mix shift being generated by faster growth of high-margin specialty products and new products that indicate innovation and a competitive edge.

• Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Leerink Swann following Gilead's strong quarter.

• FTN Midwest upgraded shares of Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NYSE: AMD) and Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) to Buy from Neutral as the firm believes they are seeing the beginnings of a truce with between the two companies which could lead to higher ASPs.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• CNOOC Ltd (NYSE: CEO) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan to reflect the company's prospects for production growth.

• Stifel raised shares of Washington Real Estate Investment Trust (NYSE: WRE) to Buy from Hold with a $42 target.

• AG Edwards upgraded FARO Technologies, Inc (NASDAQ: FARO) to Buy from Hold.

• William Blair upgraded Illinois Tool Works, Inc (NYSE: ITW) to Outperform from Market Perform.

• JP Morgan added J.C. Penney Co (NYSE: JCP) to its Focus List.

• Matrix USA upgraded shares of Henry Schein, Inc (NASDAQ: HSIC) to Buy from Hold on valuation.

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