"Realty Income (O) is one of our favorite companies; they continue to grow their portfolio of properties which will ensure their dividend stream will grow for years to come," says Steve Christ.

The editor of Wealth Advisory explains, "The company recently announced its 54th consecutive quarterly increase and the 61st dividend increase since Realty Income went public in 1994.

"The company recently announced that it had signed definitive purchase agreements to acquire up to 33, single-tenant, retail, distribution, office and manufacturing properties under long-term, net-lease agreements for approximately $544 million.

"Our latest 'Stock of the Month' has one of the finest and most dependable dividend streaks you'll ever find," notes Nathan Slaughter.

The editor of Street Authority Market Advisor explains, "Realty Income (O) just recently announced its 488th consecutive monthly dividend, meaning it hasn't missed a payment since 1970.

"That tells me two things. One, the shareholder-friendly management team is committed to returning excess cash to shareholders. Two, it has consistently generated the profits to back up those payments through thick and thin.

Analyst Upgrades

• Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) to positive from neutral at Susquehanna.
• tw telecom (TWTC) to outperform from neutral at Cowen.
• Agree Realty (ADC) to buy from neutral at Janney Capital.
• Millicom (MICC) to buy from neutral at Nomura.
• BioMed Realty (BMR) to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• Realty Income (O) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.

Analyst Upgrades

• Barclays upgraded Western Digital (WDC) to overweight from equal weight.
• LDK Solar (LDK) was upgraded to buy from hold at Needham.
• Legg Mason (LM) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Macquarie.
• Agilent (A) was upgraded to buy from hold at Stifel Nicolaus.
• Wells Fargo upgraded Dean Foods (DF) to outperform from market perform and Developers Diversified (DDR) to market perform from underperform.
• Deutsche Bank also upgraded Developers Diversified, to buy from hold.
• Northrop Grumman (NOC) was upgraded to sell from conviction sell at Goldman.
• MYR Group (MYRG) was upgraded to buy from hold at BB&T.

Analyst Upgrades

• Deutsche Bank upgraded Research in Motion (RIMM) to hold from sell to reflect the company's Q3 results and guidance. The firm raised its target price on shares to $75 from $60.
• Keefe Bruyette upgraded Northern Trust (NTRS) and State Street (STT) to outperform from market perform to reflect valuation and favorable longer-term secular trends. The firm keeps a $58 price target on Northern Trust and a $51 target on State Street.
• UBS upgraded Universal Health (UHS) to buy from neutral and raised its target to $38 from $31. The firm said hospital checks indicate bad debt has not increased vs. Q3 and that Universal Health should report an in-line to better-than-expected Q4.
• Take-Two Interactive (TTWO) was upgraded to hold from sell at Kaufman Bros.
• Whiting Petroleum (WLL) was raised to outperform from market perform at Wells Fargo.
• BP Plc (BP) was upgraded at Goldman to buy from neutral.

Over the last few months, real estate investment trusts (REITs) have shown that they are able to survive in tough conditions, at least compared with most other stocks. However, there have been signs of weakness for REITs lately and this is likely to continue.

With recession fears still looming, real estate operators are facing yet another difficult situation brought on by rising unemployment, which could result in lower office and retail space demand. And rising inflation will come with higher interest rates, leading to higher borrowing expenses for REITs. Considering these circumstances, the outlook for REITs is not all that promising.

With all these concerns and obstacles tied to the market and the industry, you may think it wise to stay away from real estate, at least until we see an improvement in consumer spending and the banking sector. Kiplinger suggests that we reconsider these thoughts, and actually suggests some names to invest in that could offer us the advantages we are all looking for.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Jefferies downgraded American Capital (NASDAQ: ACAS) to Underperform from Hold as they see a disproportionate risk profile in the company's current portfolio when compared to most peers.
  
• Banc of America cut Realty Income (NYSE: O) to Sell from Neutral as they believe the current valuation is not sustainable.
  
• Bear lowered KKR Financial (NYSE: KFN) to Peer Perform from Outperform following the company's announcement that it intends to sell 20M shares in a public offering.

• Goldman cut PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) to Neutral from Buy.
  
• RBC Capital downgraded Avocent (NASDAQ: AVCT) to Sector Perform from Outperform.
  
• JP Morgan removed NICE Systems (NASDAQ: NICE) from its Focus List.