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.

Analyst upgrades:

• Keefe Bruyette upgraded American Express (NYSE: AXP) to Outperform from Market Perform to reflect improving credit trends following the July monthly data. The firm raised its target price on shares to $37.
• Oppenheimer upgraded Corning (NYSE: GLW) to Outperform from Perform as it believes 2010 estimates are achievable and concerns over falling LCD demand are overdone. The firm set a $19 price target on the stock.
• JPMorgan upgraded International Game Technology (NYSE: IGT) to Overweight from Neutral on valuation and expectations domestic replacement orders will pick up. The firm has a $23 price target on shares.
• Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Pali Capital.
• Portland General Electric (NYSE: POR) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
• Mechel Steel (NYSE: MTL) was upgraded to Neutral from Reduce at Nomura.

As the new earnings season kicked off, Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) posted better-than expected results, despite a decline in earnings, and Pepsi Bottling Group (NYSE: PBG) topped Wall Street expectations as well. This just goes to show that there is some good news in earnings if you know where to look. Here are a few recent, less-prominent examples.

Flow International Corp. (NASDAQ: FLOW), which makes industrial waterjet equipment, swung to a better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter profit of $13.3 million, or 35 cents per share, helped by a boost in sales due to strong demand and an income tax benefit. Revenue rose 21% to $63.3 million. Shares are creeping up from a 52-week low of $6.81 a week ago.

Motor sports company International Speedway Corp.'s (NASDAQ: ISCA) second-quarter profit rose 41% to $26 million, or 52 cents per share. However, revenue slipped 3% to $174.9 million as admission and food and merchandise sales declined. Results fell short of Wall Street expectations, and shares fell to a 52-week low of $36.36.

Apparel and footwear company Wolverine World Wide Inc. (NYSE: WWW), second-quarter profit of $16.8 million, or 33 cents per share, topped Wall Street expectations, as strong international results linked to the weaker dollar largely offset increased product and freight costs. Revenue climbed 7% to $267.4 million. But shares fell $3.11 to $23.46 in morning trading.

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

• America's Car-Mart Inc. (NASDAQ: CRMT) beat estimates by closing underperforming branches.
• Aristotle Corp. (NASDAQ: ARTL) fourth-quarter revenue edged up while earnings slipped.
• Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) fourth-quarter profit plunged on bond insurance related write-downs.
• Boston Beer Co. Inc. (NYSE: SAM) fourth-quarter profit more than doubled as drinkers switch to craft beers.
• CAI International Inc. (NYSE: CAP) beat expectations fourth quarter and raised its guidance.
• Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) offered encouraging guidance for the full year and long term.
• Consolidated Communications Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CNSL) beat estimates for the fourth quarter.
• Flow International Corp. (NASDAQ: FLOW) beat expectations, sending shares up sharply.
• Gehl Co. (NASDAQ: GEHL) fourth-quarter profit fell but beat expectations due to international growth.
• J. Crew Group Inc. (NYSE: JCG) raised its full-year outlook, sending shares higher.
• Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) beat fourth-quarter expectations though profit slumped due to inflation.
• Maidenform Brands Inc. (NYSE: MFB) beat fourth quarter estimates due to sourcing initiatives.
• Smart Balance Inc. (NASDAQ: SMBL) nearly doubled its fourth-quarter loss despite strong revenue growth.
• Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO) posted a narrower-than-expected first-quarter loss.
• WellPoint Inc. (NYSE: WLP) cut its first-quarter and full-year forecasts on higher expenses.

Flow International Corporation (NASDAQ: FLOW) develops and manufactures ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) waterjet and machining technology for the manufacturing and surface preparation cleaning markets. It also provides specialty engineered robotic systems designed for material removal, separation of materials and factory automation. The company's product line includes waterjet cutting systems, industrial cleaning systems, UHP food processing systems, UHP industrial presses, and automated assembly systems.

The company pleased investors last week, when it reported fiscal Q3 EPS of 16 cents and revenues of $66.3 million. Analysts had been expecting 11 cents and $61.8 million.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Statoil (STO), BG Group (BRG), Repsol (REP), Flow International (FLOW) and the refining sector were today's more noteworthy downgrades:

• Citigroup cut Statoil (NYSE: STO), BG Group (NYSE: BRG) and Repsol SA (NYSE: REP) to Sell from Hold due to valuation and the difficult operating environment.

• Matrix USA downgraded Flow International (NASDAQ: FLOW) to Strong Sell from Hold, citing weak demand from Asian customers that led to slowing sales growth.

• Bernstein downgraded the refining sector to Underperform and refiners Sunoco (NYSE: SUN) and Valero Energy (NYSE: VLO) to Underperform from Market Perform...

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Canadian Pacific (NYSE: CP) was cut to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse; RBC Capital downgraded CP shares to Sector Perform from Outperform.

• Goldman downgraded Taiwan Semi (NYSE: TSM) to Neutral from Buy.

• Buckingham lowered Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI) to Accumulate from Buy.

• Credit Suisse downgraded Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH) to Neutral from Outperform.

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

I love following the moves of activist investors by tracking their portfolios on StockPickr.com and reading their arguments and analysis in SEC 13D filings. One of my favorite activists to follow is Dan Loeb of Third Point. Loeb is known for his well-written, to-the-point letters to greedy managers which are seen and read by investors all over. According to StockPickr.com's portfolio page for Dan Loeb, Third Point has "posted an average annual return of 28.9 percent since Loeb founded the firm in 1995." Due to the entertainment (and potentially profitable ideas!) provided by Dan Loeb, I have found myself covering one of his letters since my return to writing, his letter to the management of Acorda. Another Third Point position I am closely following is Flow International (NASDAQ: FLOW).

Flow International is a UHP water pump company. What exactly are UHP water pumps? Basically, these are high pressure (40,000-87,000 psi) water pumps used to cut and clean various materials. Using a UHP water pump to cut is viewed as being more flexible than other cutting methods (e.g. lasers, saws) because it can cut more materials and it cuts without heat. In addition, there are benefits to using UHP water pumps in industrial cleaning, paint removal, and so on. For example, there are usually fewer environmental concerns in using water pumps compared to older, traditional methods such as sandblasting. Due to the benefits of UHP water pumps when compared to their traditional alternatives, the upside of the entire market seems very bright.

The growth in FLOW's underlying fundamentals has been fairly significant during recent years. First, the company had its first year of positive net income in 2006, earning roughly $6 million. 2006 also showed a roughly 100% increase in EBIT when compared to 2005 figures. While $6 million in net income seems rather insignificant for a company with a market cap of $445 million, what's important is the company's future. I believe the company has significant earnings potential over the next few years and the six analysts following the company seem to agree. For 2007, the average analyst estimate is 39 cents per share (on $226 million in sales). This would represent an increase in roughly 50% for EPS.