Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS) issued its fourth-quarter report today. The company was rocking this afternoon: with a little more than two hours to go before the close of the session, the stock was up 6% to $39.93. Earlier during the intraday session, a new 52-week high of $40.26 was achieved. It's good to get over that psychological round-number level, right?

The volume of shares traded so far is already in the spectacular range. The 52-week low for the stock is $24.02, so the current price is more than a comfortable distance away from that point. The one-year chart is attractive even if it doesn't plot a straight-up line.

Analyst Upgrades

• Intel (INTC), ON Semiconductor (ONNN), Lattice Semiconductor (LSCC), Fairchild Semiconductor (FSC), STMicroelectronics (STM) and Altera (ALTR) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Capital One (COF) to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
• Dollar Tree (DLTR) to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Foot Locker (FL) to buy from neutral at Sterne Agee.
• Progressive (PGR) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Flow International (FLOW) to buy from neutral at Roth Capital.
• Signature Bank (SBNY) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• HiSoft Technology (HSFT) to buy from neutral at UBS.

This week we turn the calendar page, and that change brings with it a raft of economic data. Scheduled for release on Monday are pending home sales and personal income numbers for January, as well as the Chicago PMI and car and truck sales data for February.

On Tuesday, look for the ISM Manufacturing Index for February and construction spending numbers for January. That's followed on Wednesday by the week's first employment data: the Challenger Job-Cuts announcement and the ADP employment report for February. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will deliver his semiannual monetary policy testimony before Congress on both days.

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.

Analyst Upgrades

• Weeden upgraded Nabors Industries (NBR) to buy from hold on expectations that U.S. land drillers will likely benefit from a more restrictive deepwater Gulf of Mexico drilling environment.
• Macquarie upgraded Cinemark (CNK) to outperform from neutral and has a $20 price target on the stock. The firm cites valuation, market share stabilization and Latin American pricing power.
• RBC Capital upgraded Edison International (EIX) to outperform from sector perform with a $43 target. The firm cited valuation and its belief that the company's unregulated businesses are well-positioned to accelerate as reasons for the upgrade.
• Canadian Pacific (CP) was upgraded to buy from hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
• FirstEnergy (FE) was upgraded to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Joy Global (JOYG) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Longbow.

Analyst Upgrades

• Barrington upgraded Global Payments (GPN) to outperform from market perform following the company's Q3 results and raised earnings guidance.
• FBR Capital upgraded Foot Locker (FL) to outperform from market perform to reflect the company's improving comps and international expansion. The firm set a $17 price target for shares.
• Keefe Bruyette upgraded Legg Mason (LM) to outperform from market perform and raised its target for shares to $37 from $34.
• Acuity Brands (AYI) was upgraded to buy from hold at BB&T.
• Ann Taylor (ANN) was upgraded to hold from underperform at Jefferies.
• Waddell & Reed (WDR) was upgraded to buy from hold at Citigroup.

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

• ADC Telecommunications Inc. (ADCT) posted a surprise net loss for Q4 and predicted a loss in Q1.
• BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. (BJ) shares fell after Q3 earnings met expectations and offered guidance for FY.
• Dell Inc. (DELL) posted lower-than-expected Q3 earnings, prompting a sell-off of shares.
• Foot Locker Inc. (FL) said Q3 earnings slumped more than analysts' forecast, sending shares lower.
• Gap Inc. (GPS) reported growth of EPS and revenue in Q3 and announced a share buyback program.

Foot Locker (FL), which competes against Collective Brands (PSS) and Wal-Mart (WMT) for a share of the shoe industry, issued a Q3 report on Thursday after the bell that was typical of many retailers: declining sales and dismal profits. Sometimes, the market is in the mood to ignore such grim news, but such indifference is usually predicated on an earnings beat. Unfortunately, this was not the case for the New York-based specialty athletic retailer.

On an adjusted basis, per-share profit dropped over 40% to 10 cents per share. Analysts were looking for 13 cents per share, according to Earnings.com. Same-store sales took a dive of 8.2%.

While the release of economic data doesn't stop next week (see economic schedule highlights below), the earnings season does wind down dramatically. Most of the S&P 500 companies already have reported on the past quarter, which means dismal earnings news is largely behind us, at least for a while. About the only companies of note expected by analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters to report falling earnings this week are Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST), Wendy's/Arby's Group Inc. (NYSE: WEN), Foot Locker Inc. (NYSE: FL), Bank of Montreal (NYSE: BMO), and Steinway Musical Instruments Inc. (NYSE: LVB).

While PetSmart Inc. (NASDAQ: PETM) and Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG) quarterly profits are expected to be about the same as a year ago, Liz Claiborne Inc. (NYSE: LIZ), Kenneth Cole Productions Inc. (NYSE: KCP), Ciena Corp. (NASDAQ: CIEN), and Trina Solar Ltd. (NYSE: TSL) are expected to have swung to losses in the most recent quarter.

Time was that F.W. Woolworth Co. was as much a part of America as baseball and hot dogs. The company was so successful that founder Frank Woolworth paid for the construction of the Woolworth Building in New York City, once the tallest building in the world, in cash. Today, the brand is largely unknown by shoppers under age 30, who may hear about Woolworth's only when they learn in school about the famous sit-in at the store's location in Greensboro, N.C., during the Civil Rights era.

Woolworth's, which ceased operating in the U.S. in 1997, used to symbolize the U.S. in other parts of the world, too, but the brand is continuing to fade. Reports from the U.K. say the Woolworths chain (the Brits don't use the apostrophe), which has been separate from the American parent for 25 years, is closing because it had been unable to find a buyer. The 815-store chain has 385 million pounds in debt, according the Independent newspaper.

Customers seemed to like the fact that Woolies -- its nickname in the U.K. -- sold a bit of everything. That's what people liked about the U.S. stores as well, from what I remember. In today's specialized retail world, though, this huge selection represents a problem. "To an analyst, that looks like a terrible lack of focus," the Independent said. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT), which perfected Frank Woolworth's discounting strategy and drove the company he founded out of business, is one of the few that can get away with that approach today.

Last week, JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: JASO) posted a quarterly loss and lowered its guidance. But as interest in alternative energy continues to grow, analysts polled by Thomson Financial are still looking for good things from solar energy concerns scheduled to report earnings this week.

Strong growth at Trina Solar Ltd. (NYSE: TSL) in the third quarter prompted it to lift its guidance back in October. Analysts expect the Chinese company to post profits that are 76.3% higher than a year ago, or $1.18 per share on revenues of $268.4 million (+225.0%). Though Trina Solar missed estimates in the second quarter, analysts on average recommend buying TSL. Shares are down 81.4% from a year ago and trading near an all-time low.

Earnings of rival LDK Solar Co. Ltd. (NYSE: LDK) are expect to have risen 47.9% to $0.71 per share on revenues of $486.7 million (+206.6%). Also based in China, LDK has not missed estimates in recent quarters; in fact, it blew past expectations in the second quarter. Yet the consensus recommendation is to hold LDK. Like Trina Solar, LDK's shares are trading near an all-time low; the share price has fallen 50.0% in the past year.

Analysts anticipate third-quarter earnings for Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSIQ) to be a whopping 96.3% higher than a year ago, or $0.54 per share on revenues of $248.0 million (+154.5%). The company easily topped estimates in the previous quarter. ReneSola Ltd. (NYSE: SOL) and Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd. (NYSE: STP) are also expected to report earnings growth of 29.7% ($0.37 per share) and 23.8% ($0.42 per share), respectively. All three of these stocks reached 52-week lows last week, and all are considered buys.

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

• Aeropostale Inc. (NYSE: ARO) strong Q2 results were in line with analysts' expectations.
• BHP Billiton Ltd. (NYSE: BHP) reported a record annual profit on demands for commodities in China.
• Burger King Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BKC) beat Q4 expectations despite struggling with commodities costs.
• Foot Locker Inc. (NYSE: FL) reported that it easily beat earnings expectations for the second quarter.
• GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) reported strong Q2 results despite a decline in gross margins.
• Hershey Co. (NYSE: HSY) narrowed its 2008 guidance due to rising costs of commodities.
• HJ Heinz Co. (NYSE: HNZ) Q1 results topped analysts' estimates and raised its full-year guidance.
• JDS Uniphase Corp. (NASDAQ: JDSU) offered disappointing quarterly results and Q1 guidance.
• Limited Brands Inc. (NYSE: LTD) reported better-than-expected Q2 results and boosted its forecast.
• Novatel Wireless Inc. (NASDAQ: NVTL) fell short of estimates, leading to a new 52-week low.
• Saks Inc. (NYSE: SKS) reported a smaller-than-expected Q2 loss and forecast lower operating margins.
• Staples Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLS) warned of lower profits due to continued challenging market conditions.
• Zumiez Inc. (NASDAQ: ZUMZ) warmed of weakness in the second half, including lower same-store sales.

For more earnings highlights from this week, see: Home Depot, Lehman, Hewlett-Packard, Gap, BJ's and others

Upcoming quarterly reports include Big Lots (NYSE: BIG), Borders (NYSE: BGP), Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP), Tivo (NASDAQ: TIVO), Novell (NASDAQ: NOVL), Dell (NASDAQ: DELL), Sears (NASDAQ: SHLD), and Tiffany (NYSE: TIF).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

Foot Locker (NYSE: FL - option chain) shares are soaring higher today after the company announced yesterday evening that it earned a second-quarter profit of $18 million, or 11 cents per share and well above estimates of 3 cents. Other retail earnings this morning were a mixed bag, as Gap (NYSE: GPS) and Jones Apparel (NYSE: JNY) are rising while Pacific Sunwear (NASDAQ: PSUN) is tanking. This makes me think that the retail sector may not trade as a block for the next few months, but rather on the individual merits of each stock. If you think that FL stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on the stock.

FL opened this morning at $16.40. So far today the stock has hit a low of $14.93 and a high of $16.50. As of 12:05, FL is trading at $15.57, up 0.29 (1.9%). The chart for FL looks neutral and S&P gives FL a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

For a bullish hedged play on this stock, I would consider a January bull-put credit spread below the $10 range. A bull-put credit spread is an options position that combines the purchase and sale of put options to hedge risk in case the stock doesn't do what you think but still leverage nice returns. For this particular trade, we will make an 8.7% return in five months as long as FL is above $10 at January expiration. Foot Locker would have to fall by more than 35% before we would start to lose money. Learn more about this type of trade here.

FL hasn't been below $9 at all and hasn't been below $10 for more than a few days in the past year. It has shown support around $14 recently.

Brent Archer is an options analyst and writer at Investors Observer.

DISCLOSURE: Mr. Archer owns and/or controls diversified portfolios of long and short stock and option positions that may include holdings in companies he writes about. At publication time, Brent neither owns nor controls positions in FL.

U.S. stock futures were higher this morning, pointing to a potential positive start on Wall Street. Investors this morning await Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke speech on financial stability scheduled for 10:00 a.m. from the Fed's annual retreat at Jackson Hole. In the face of recent financial turmoil, namely talk of a government bailout for Fannie and Freddie, as well as troubles at Lehman, Bernanke's speech will likely be today's highlight. Meanwhile, oil dropped a little from Thursday's advance.

Indeed, the Wall Street Journal reports that Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) "executives are sounding out private-equity firms and other investors about the possibility of buying new common or preferred shares in the mortgage company." But of course, investors are worries their investments in Freddie or Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) may be lost in case of a government bailout. Even Warren Buffett opined on the matter on CNBC this morning, saying he expects the government to take action to support troubled mortgage financiers.

Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) is rebounding this morning after an analyst at Ladenburg Thalmann upgraded LEH to Buy Thursday, saying it is vulnerable to a hostile takeover.

Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) is close to an agreement with Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), according to the Wall Street Journal. Conceding they need help with search, the deal could make Google the default search provider on Verizon devices.

Rival home improvement chains Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) and Lowe's Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW) are scheduled to report quarterly results this week. Not surprisingly, given the ongoing housing slump, analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial on average expect both companies to post earnings lower than in the same period a year ago. For Home Depot, that's 61 cents per share, down 20.8%, and for Lowe's, 56 cents per share, down 16.4%. Meanwhile, cabinet maker American Woodmark Corp. (NASDAQ: AMWD), for whom Home Depot and Lowe's are major distributors, is also expected to report lower earnings: 11 cents per share, down 67.6%.

The presidential campaigns have prompted much discussion of energy policy and alternative energy sources. Some solar-energy-related concerns are scheduled to report this week, and expectations seem to be high. Trina Solar Ltd. (NYSE: TSL) is expected to report 81 cents per share earnings, up 67.9%; ReneSola Ltd. (NYSE: SOL) is expected to post earnings of 32 cents per share, up 62.5%; and Suntech Power Holdings Co. (NYSE: STP) is expected to have earnings of 32 cents per share, up 21.9%. Even China Sunergy Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: CSUN) is expected to have swung to a profit of 3 cents per share, from a per-share loss of 14 cents a year ago.