I'm placing a Hold on shares E.I. du Pont De Memours (NYSE: DD), also known as Du Pont, first recommended on April 22, 2009 at a price of $27.48. If you bought DD in April, you're up about 20%

Look for DD's coatings and color technologies business to begin to recover in 2010, on the U.S./global recoveries. However, DD's pharmaceuticals unit will face a tougher 2010, due to patent expirations. The First Call FY2009/FY2010 EPS estimates for DD are $2.01 to $2.22.

3M (NYSE: MMM) is one of those solid stocks that investors love to sock away in a core portfolio. It was down when pessimism about the economy was at its peak, but it's coming back now that Wall Street is becoming comfortable with the idea that the economic clouds will eventually give way to rays of macro sunshine.

Earlier in the week, 3M reported a great quarter. No, it wasn't so great on a comparable basis. The company, which counts Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) and DuPont (NYSE: DD) as colleagues, suffered a decline of almost 6% on the top line in Q3. Earnings per share on an adjusted basis, which came in at $1.37 per share, were down 3.5%.

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

• Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) Q3 earnings beat by a penny but sales fell short of expectations; shares fell.
• AMR Corp. (NYSE: AMR) reported a Q3 net loss and plunging revenue but also raised $4 billion in cash.
• BB&T Corp. (NYSE: BBT) topped Q3 earnings expectations but said bad-loan provisions nearly doubled.
• Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) missed estimates and posted a Q3 loss due to delays for a couple of jet products.
• Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF) shares rose after it reported better-than-expected Q3 numbers.
• Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) posted a better-than-expected Q3 profit but sales fell short, and shares fell.

"The Dogs of the Dow strategy has a long-term history of outperforming the Dow Jones average," notes technical expert Gerald Appel.

In his Systems & Forecasts, he explains, "The theory is that the highest yielding stocks are undervalued and should have the greatest change of appreciating." Here, he reviews the five highest yielders.

"In calculating a formal track record for the strategy, dividend yields are ranked on the last trading day of each year. However, there is no reason why you are limited to ranking stocks only at the end of the year.

"The current market climate appears favorable for using this strategy to garner investment income, since market risk appears below normal and investment income is getting hard to come by.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded Capital One (NYSE: COF) to Buy from Hold as it believes the credit cycle is starting to recover for U.S. credit cards and an improving economy will support bank credit stabilization. The firm raised its target on shares to $44 from $28.
• JPMorgan upgraded Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) to Overweight from Neutral on valuation and believes the stock market recovery will serve as a catalyst.
• Deutsche Bank upgraded F5 Networks (NASDAQ: FFIV) to Buy from Hold after its channel checks indicated a sooner-than-expected order ramp and stabilizing pricing trends. The firm raised its target on shares to $46 from $39.
• COTT Corp. (NYSE: COT) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
• Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) was upgraded to Equal Weight from Underweight at Barclays.
• Illinois Tool Works (NYSE: ITW) was upgraded to Conviction Buy from Neutral at Goldman.

DuPont (NYSE: DD) closed at $32.57. August 11 DD options were active on volume of 349,770 contracts into today's ex-dividend. DD August option implied volatility of 33; September is at 35; below its 26-week average 43 according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) closed at $33.18. LLY goes ex dividend today with a 49 cents dividend. On August 11 LLY options were active on volume of 28,953 contracts. LLY August option implied volatility is at 28, September is at 27; below its 26-week average of 31, suggesting decreasing price movement.

Options Update: Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

Excluding a 15-cent-per-share hit from restructuring charges, chemicals giant DuPont (NYSE: DD), yet another Dow component, said it would have earned 61 cents per share. That number bested consensus estimates for a 53-cent per share profit, but once again, the top-line number is cause for concern.

DuPont said its second-quarter profit dropped 61% to $417 million, or 46 cents per share, with revenue falling 24% to $7.09 billion. Analysts had expected the company to bring in $7.14 billion in revenue.

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

• AK Steel Holding Corp. (NYSE: AKS) posted a smaller-than-expected Q2 net loss as steel prices rise.
• Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE: BSX) posted a better-than-expected Q2 profit on strong overseas sales.
• Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) shares jumped after it beat earnings, missed revenues, and offered guidance.
• DuPont (NYSE: DD) shares declined after it posted a higher-than-expected profit but lower revenue.
• Eaton Corp. (NYSE: ETN) disappointing results were a sign that the bulls are in charge, said Jim Cramer.
• General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) Q2 earnings and sales declined, dragged down by finance and NBC units.

Today's news boiled down to two issues. First was that five DJIA components reporting earnings this morning, with details on three components. The second issue was Ben Bernanke testifying that inflation was not a huge concern because the economy is likely to stay frail for some time. The markets were mixed to down most of the day until a late day rally saved shares.

Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 8,911.71 +63.56 (0.72%)
S&P 500 954.10 +2.97 (0.31%)
Nasdaq 1,914.13 +4.84 (0.25%)

Top 10 Analyst Upgrades/Downgrades

Another stock leveraged to the oil market is Dupont (NYSE: DD). Because many of the company's products are derived from crude oil, rising oil prices negatively impact profit margins. The only recourse, then, is to raise the price for consumers. But doing so in this environment is unlikely given the weakness in the economy.

As a result, the dynamics of the market are such that profits for DD will be lower in the near term.

That puts the company in a bit of a Catch-22.

"DuPont EI Neumours (NYSE: DD) is a world-class company with a world-class dividend yield," says growth & income expert Bryan Perry. Here's the latest from his The Cash Machine.

"Some of the biggest winners in a recovering economy are those stocks of companies engaged in the basic businesses such as industrial chemicals, plastics, and adhesives.

"The firm can implement price increases along the way, which could translate into phenomenal earnings surprises and set a stock like DuPont in motion higher.

Analyst upgrades:

• Baird upgraded Nike (NYSE: NKE) to Outperform from Neutral on expectations the company will benefit from the drop in the U.S. dollar and continued solid trends in athletic footwear. The firm raised its target on shares to $69 from $61.
  
• Deutsche Bank upgraded Temple-Inland (NYSE: TIN) to Buy from Hold as it believes the company is well positioned for cyclical turnaround in the Paper/Building Products space. The firm raised its target on shares to $19 from $11.
  
• Goldman upgraded Diageo (NYSE: DEO) to Buy from Neutral to reflect the current valuation and the company's exposure to emerging markets.
• Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB) was upgraded to Hold from Sell at ING Group.
  
• Banco Santander (NYSE: STD) was lifted to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank.
  
• Jackson Hewitt (NYSE: JTX) was upgraded at Oppenheimer to Outperform from Perform.

Dow component DuPont (NYSE: DD) said today that it will eliminate another 2,000 jobs as part of its ongoing plan to cut costs. Previously, the blue chip slashed 2,500 employees and 4,000 contractor positions from its payroll back in December.

The company will take a second-quarter pre-tax restructuring charge of $340 million to $390 million as a result of the job cuts, though DuPont said it will save $225 million by the end of 2010.

The news pressured DD to a loss of 3% within the first hour of today's trading. The stock's pullback could potentially find a floor near its 20-day moving average; in collaboration with its 10-day counterpart, this trendline has guided the shares higher since early March.

3M (NYSE: MMM) had a not-that-great first quarter. The declines were significant and ugly. First, net sales plunged over 20%. Second, net income on an adjusted basis likewise spiraled out of control, declining over 40% to $0.81 per share. And no, that didn't meet expectations. Wall Street was looking for $0.86 per share. Sorry, gang.

You've got the dollar and the global recession to blame. Currency translations affected sales, and declines in economic activity didn't help much, either. Many people look to 3M as a staunch dividend play. As such, cash flow is important. Unfortunately, the statement of cash flows this quarter was hard to read. Net cash from operations decreased 30%, and free cash flow lost 35% of its value when compared to the year-ago period. Thankfully, there was enough free cash to cover the dividend.

Have institutional investors been overly harsh on Du Pont's (NYSE: DD) shares? Indeed they have. Here's why:

Look for DD's agriculture business to advance nicely, at double digit rates, in 2009, after a 22% gain in 2008. Pharmaceutical earnings are expected to be roughly flat. Look for raw material and energy costs to dip slightly in 2009.