"Benjamin Graham has been recognized for decades as the father of value investing; Warren Buffett was a student of Ben Graham at Columbia University and later worked for Mr. Graham for several years," notes J. Royden Ward.

The editor of the Cabot Benjamin Graham Value Letter explains, "We've combined Warren Buffett's and Ben Graham's investing criteria for choosing stocks and and found six high-quality companies.

"We believe that the six stocks that passed our screen each sell at sensible prices, offer reasonable appreciation potential, and provide solid dividends.

Coach (COH) is a leading American marketer of luxury lifestyle handbags and other fashion accessories for both men and women. It is one of the most well-known accessories brands in the U.S. and also maintains a presence in select international markets. Coach competes with other premium apparel and accessories players like Polo Ralph Lauren (RL), Liz Claiborne (LIZ), and AnnTaylor (ANN), as well as high-end brands like Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Gucci and Prada.

We have previously discussed the potential upside to Coach from expansion in China and the increasing popularity of its "affordable luxury" brand image. (see Could Coach Replicate its Japanese Market Success in China?) However, Coach's shares sold off post earnings even as Coach beat expectations, largely because gross margin remained flat and failed to meet expectations. It seems that the market is not ready to pay more for Coach right now.

If you haven't already with Coach Inc. (COH), first discussed here on April 13, 2009 at a price of $18.22, now may be a good time to consider taking some profits off the table, as the shares have soared from $46 to about $57 in three months.

However, other investors who can tolerate the risk can maintain their full position in COH and go for an even bigger gain, as the company's shares are headed north.

I'd also obviously raise the sell/stop loss to $42 from $28 at this stage.

Coach, a leading designer and marketer of high-quality accessories, is bucking the 'frugal consumer' trend in the U.S. via its lucrative niche: 'accessible luxury.'

Coca-Cola (KO) has more than $13 billion in cash.

The top five companies (according to market cap) are:

• Exxon Mobil (XOM): $398.3 billion
• Apple (AAPL): $309.0 billion
• Microsoft (MSFT): $237.5 billion
• General Electric (GE): $215.0 billion
• Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A): $202.5 billion

Analyst Upgrades

• Boeing (BA) to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Alcoa (AA) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• BP (BP) to outperform from market perform at Raymond James.
• Office Depot (ODP) and Staples (SPLS) to buy from neutral at Janney Capital.
• ON Semiconductor (ONNN) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Kennametal (KMT) and Polyone (POL) to buy from hold at KeyBanc.
• Airgas (ARG) to outperform from market perform at William Blair.
• EchoStar (SATS) to neutral from underperform at Macquarie.

If you managed to catch the second elevator up in August with Coach Inc. (COH), first discussed here on April 15, 2009, at a price of $18.22, now may be a good time to consider taking some profits off the table.

After a summer dip, Coach has rocketed higher, soaring from about $40 to more than $54, tossing aside key, psychological resistance at $50.

Those investors who can tolerate the risk can hold on to their full position and go for an even bigger gain with COH.

"Our recommendations center on a collection of five stocks that we believe, as a group, will outperform the market this month; our portfolio is beating the S&P 500 by more than 58% since its inception in 2000," notes David Fried.

The editor of The Buyback Letter explains, "High-end accessories retailer, Coach (COH), is a new addition to this portfolio.

"The company is a leading American marketer of fine accessories and gifts for women and men. Even in a struggling economy, apparently luxury sells, as long as you're stocking the right premium products.

"Benjamin Graham has been recognized for decades as the father of value investing; Warren Buffett is known as the Oracle of Omaha for his superior investing skills," asserts J. Royden Ward, adding, "For this report, we combine Warren Buffett's and Ben Graham's criteria for choosing stocks.

The advisor reviews Abbott Laboratories (ABT), Coach (COH), Intel (INTC), Mastercard (MA), Microsoft (MSFT) and Tupperware Brands (TUP).

If you missed the first elevator up with premier accessories company Coach Inc. (COH), which I first wrote about on April 13, 2009 at a price of $18.22, don't worry: There's another elevator you can catch.

Coach corrected to about $35 in July, and the stock even gives the appearance of a short-term double-top at/near $45, but that pattern is unlikely to stop COH from resuming its vector north.

Coach, a leading designer and marketer of high-quality accessories, is bucking the 'frugal consumer' trend in the U.S. via its lucrative niche: 'accessible luxury.'

"Coach (COH) is primarily known for its luxury handbags. The company also sells leathergoods, business cases, travel accessories, footwear, watches, outerwear, scarves, sunwear, jewelry, fragrance, and related accessories," says Geoffrey Seiler.

The editor of BullMarket.com points out, "At the end of 2009, Coach had 343 retail stores and 118 factory stores in North America. It also had 163 shops in Japan and 37 in China."

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

• American Express Co. (AXP) doubled its bottom line in Q4 while its provisions for losses fell.
• Blockbuster Inc. (BBI) warned of weakness in Q4 and lowered its guidance, sending shares lower.
• Coach Inc. (COH) better-than-expected Q2 earnings were accompanied by sales growth, but shares fell.
• Comerica Inc. (CMA) posted a smaller-than-expected Q4 loss, sending shares to a 52-week high.
• CSX Corp. (CSX) posted Q4 earnings that topped estimates but its revenue fell short of expectations.

Coach (COH) is a mystery to me today. I thought the numbers from its latest quarter were pretty good. And yet, the stock sells off. That alone is not so mysterious; heck, it happens all the time. What makes it so strange for me is I've covered so many other retailers that post awful numbers and then go on to see a big bid. Hey, that's the market, right?

Anyway, Coach said total sales increased 11% in the second quarter. North American same-store sales advanced over 3%. Earnings came in at 75 cents per share, 8 cents better than last year's income stat. Earnings.com says Wall Street was looking for 72 cents per share.

Analyst upgrades:

• Credit Suisse upgraded Motorola (NYSE: MOT) to Outperform from Neutral after the close Monday. The firm believes Motorola's devices segment will approach breakeven in 2010 while operating margins in nonhandset segments will expand, and that a break-up story will reemerge. Credit Suisse raised its target on shares to $9.50 from $7.
• UBS upgraded BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP) to Buy from Neutral. The firm cites BHP's leverage to iron ore, coking coal, copper, and oil for its upgrade after raising its commodity price forecasts.
• Merriman upgraded Walter Energy (NYSE: WLT) to Buy from Neutral to reflect higher met coal price forecasts. The firm believes Chinese demand is strong and has a target range of $66-$72 on the stock.
• Intersil (NASDAQ: ISIL) was upgraded to Outperform from Perform at Oppenheimer.
• Coach (NYSE: COH) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Citigroup.

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

• Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) reported a surprise profit but is expected to return to losses next quarter.
• Coach Inc. (NYSE: COH) profit and revenue were in line with expectations, sending shares lower.
• Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) posted better-than-expected earnings but other concerns drove down shares.
• eHealth Inc. (NASDAQ: EHTH) reported solid Q2 numbers but Wall Street was not impressed.
• Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (NYSE: GT) posted a smaller-than-expected Q2 loss, sending shares higher.
• JAKKS Pacific Inc. (NASDAQ: JAKK) reported swinging to a Q2 net loss and revenues were flat.

Analyst upgrades:

• Baird upgraded WinTrust (NASDAQ: WTFC) to Neutral from Underperform and raised its target to $20 from $13 citing the accretive purchase of AIG (NYSE: AIG) loans and reduced risk of a capital raise.
• Piper Jaffray upgraded Coach (NYSE: COH) to Overweight from Neutral on expectations product sell-throughs and margin trends will improve in the coming quarters. The firm has a $32 target on the stock.
• RBC Capital upgraded Campbell Soup (NYSE: CPB) to Sector Perform from Underperform and raised its target to $33 from $29. The firm cites Campbell's recent innovation, easy volume comps, and "reasonable" consensus estimates for its upgrade.
• Tata Motors (NYSE: TTM) was upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley.
• Rockwell Automation (NYSE: ROK) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB) was upgraded to Conviction Buy from Buy at Goldman.