MOST NOTEWORTHY: Ford, Imperial Tobacco and Schlumberger were today's noteworthy upgrades:

• Soleil upgraded Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) to Buy from Sell as they expect improved sentiment towards shares given new product launches, cost cutting efforts, North American capacity reductions, and better than expected performance on the cash side.
• Imperial Tobacco Group Plc (NYSE: ITY) was raised to Buy from Hold at Citigroup to reflect FX benefits and pricing in continental Europe.
• Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE: SLB) to Overweight from Equal Weight following the company's Q1 results, as they expect consensus estimates to move higher over the coming quarters.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• B. Riley raised Wilmington Trust Corporation (NYSE: WL) to Buy from Neutral.
• Morgan Keegan upgraded Healthcare Services Group Inc (NASDAQ: HCSG) to Outperform from Market Perform.
• Bear upgraded MGIC Investment Corporation (NYSE: MTG) to Outperform from Peer Perform.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Wilmington Trust, DiamondRock Hospitality and Omrix Biopharm were today's noteworthy initiations:

• B. Riley initiated Wilmington Trust (NYSE: WL) with a Neutral rating and $33 target and points out the company has greater exposure to construction and development loans than most small- and mid-cap banks.
  
• DiamondRock Hospitality (NYSE: DRH) was assumed with a Market perform rating and $13.50 target at Keefe Bruyette. The firm sees limited upside given expectations for continued moderation in RevPAR trends, limited operating margin expansion and an uncertain economic outlook.
  
• Rodman & Renshaw believes that the issues that have plagued Omrix Biopharm (NASDAQ: OMRI) are now largely reflected in shares and that the company has improved visibility on business fundamentals with solid execution. The firm assumed coverage with an Outperform rating and $18 target.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

• UBS initiated Millennium Pharma (NASDAQ: MLNM) with a Neutral rating and $16 target.
  
• Credit Suisse initiated Ryanair (NASDAQ: RYAAY) with a Neutral rating.
  
• Morgan Stanley started Brasken (NYSE: BAK) with an Underweight rating.

For more earnings forecasts, see Peter Cohan's Earnings expectations for 10 banks tell a mixed story.

Thomson Financial expects Wilmington Trust (NYSE: WL) to earn $0.65 when it announces its fourth-quarter results on January 18th. That's down 7% from the same period in 2006, when it earned $0.70.

Wilmington Trust is a Wilmington, DE-based bank that has four segments: Regional Banking, Wealth Advisory Services, Corporate Client Services, and Affiliate Money Managers. In the last year, its revenues were $726 million and its net income totaled $186 million. Its stock has fallen 27% in the last year and it trades at a P/E of 11.4.

It has a mixed record when it comes to meeting estimates. In the second quarter of 2007, Wilmington Trust beat the consensus estimate by 4.4%, but in the third quarter it missed by 9.9%. My hunch is that this quarter, Wilmington Trust will miss expectations.

Peter Cohan is president of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He has no financial interest in Wilmington Trust securities.