AOL (AOL) (CSTR) (DISCA) (ALL) (BHI) (GMCR) Ratings, Price Targets

AOL (NYSE: AOL), Coinstar (NASDAQ: CSTR), Discovery (NASDAQ: DISCA), Allstate (NYSE: ALL), Baker Hughes (NYSE: BHI) and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) had ratings and price targets on them adjusted by analysts.

AOL (AOL) had its “Hold” rating reiterated by Benchmark Co.

Coinstar (CSTR) had its “Hold” rating reiterated by Canaccord Genuity. They have a price target of $54.00 on the company, up from $52.00.

Discovery (DISCA) had its “Hold” rating reiterated by Needham & Company.

Allstate (ALL) had its price target raised by FBR Capital from $32.00 to $35.00. They have an “Outperform” rating on the company.

Baker Hughes (BHI) had its price target lowered by Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) to $89.00.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) had its price target raised by Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) to $65.00.

Allstate (ALL) (RF) (SMBL) (TSCO) (ACAS) (AMX) Ratings Reiterated

Allstate (NYSE: ALL), Regions Financial Corp. (NYSE: RF), Smart Balance Inc. (NASDAQ: SMBL), Tractor Supply Co. (NASDAQ: TSCO), American Capital (NASDAQ: ACAS) and America Movil S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE: AMX) had ratings on them reiterated by analysts.

Nomura (NYSE:NMR) reiterated its "Buy" rating on Regions Financial Corp. (RF).

Canaccord Genuity reiterated its "Hold" rating on Smart Balance Inc. (SMBL).

Nomura reiterated its "Buy" rating on Tractor Supply Co. (TSCO).

Zacks Investment Research reiterated its "Neutral" rating on American Capital (ACAS). They have a price target of $7.50 on the company.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) reiterated its "Sell" rating on Allstate (ALL).

Goldman Sachs reiterated its "Neutral" rating on America Movil S.A.B. de C.V. (AMX).

Allstate (ALL) (LULU) (OUTD) (ALEX) (ANTH) (APH) Upgraded

Allstate (NYSE: ALL), Lululemon (NASDAQ: LULU), Outdoor Channel Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: OUTD), Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALEX), Anthera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANTH) and Amphenol Co. (NYSE: APH) were upgraded by analysts.

Lululemon (LULU) was upgraded by Barclays Capital from an “Equal Weight” rating to an “overweight” rating.

Outdoor Channel Holdings, Inc. (OUTD) was upgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “Neutral” rating to an “Outperform” rating.

Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. (ALEX) was upgraded by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc. from a “Market Perform” rating to an “Outperform” rating.

Allstate (ALL) was upgraded by Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $31.00 on the company.

Anthera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ANTH) was upgraded by Wedbush from a “Neutral” rating to an “Outperform” rating. They have a price target of $8.00 on the company.

Amphenol Co. (APH) was upgraded by Macquarie from a “Neutral” rating to an “Outperform” rating.

Allstate (ALL) (WGBS) (HPY) (MA) (FIRE) (AMRI) Get New Coverage

Allstate (NYSE: ALL), WaferGen Bio-systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: WGBS), Heartland Payment Systems Inc (NYSE: HPY), MasterCard (NYSE: MA), Sourcefire, Inc. (NASDAQ: FIRE) and Albany Molecular Research, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMRI) getting new coverage.

Madison Williams initiated coverage on WaferGen Bio-systems, Inc. (WGBS). They placed an “Accumulate” rating on the company.

Sterne Agee initiated coverage on Heartland Payment Systems Inc (HPY). They placed a “Buy” rating and a price target of $25.00 on the company.

Evercore Partners initiated coverage on Allstate (ALL). They placed an “Overweight” rating and a price target of $36.00 on the company.

Sterne Agee initiated coverage on MasterCard (MA). They placed a “Buy” rating and a price target of $390.00 on the company.

Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) initiated coverage on Sourcefire, Inc. (FIRE). They placed a “Buy” rating and a price target of $31.00 on the company.

Madison Williams initiated coverage on Albany Molecular Research, Inc. (AMRI). They placed a “Buy” rating and a price target of $7.00 on the company.

Woodward (WWD) (ALL) (EOG) (ITRI) (AZO) (LCC) Upgraded

Woodward Inc (NYSE: WWD), Allstate (NYSE: ALL), EOG Resources (NYSE: EOG), Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI), AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE: AZO) and US Airways Group, Inc. (NYSE: LCC) upgraded by analysts.

Woodward Inc. (WWD) was upgraded by Robert W. Baird from a “Neutral” rating to an “Outperform” rating. They have a price target of $39.00 on the company.

Allstate (ALL) was upgraded by UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) from a “Neutral” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $33.00 on the company.

EOG Resources (EOG) was upgraded by Ticonderoga from a “Neutral” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $110.00 on the company.

Itron, Inc. (ITRI) was upgraded by Robert W. Baird from an “Underperform” rating to a “Neutral” rating. They have a price target $41.00 on the company.

AutoZone, Inc. (AZO) was upgraded by Citigroup (NYSE:C) from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $326.00 on the company.

US Airways Group, Inc. (LCC) was upgraded by Ticonderoga from a “Neutral” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $9.00 on the company.

Diodes (DIOD) (EXAS) (ADI) (AGP) (ALL) (AMR) Downgraded

Diodes (NASDAQ: DIOD), EXACT Sciences Co. (NASDAQ: EXAS), Analog Devices, Inc. (NYSE: ADI), AMERIGROUP Co. (NYSE: AGP), Allstate (NYSE: ALL) and AMR Corp. (NYSE: AMR) downgraded by analysts.

Diodes (DIOD) was downgraded by Sterne Agee from a “Buy” rating to a “Neutral” rating.

EXACT Sciences Co. (EXAS) was downgraded by Rodman & Renshaw from an “Outperform” rating to a “Market Perform” rating.

Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI) was downgraded by Sterne Agee from a “Buy” rating to a “Neutral” rating.

AMERIGROUP Co. (AGP) was downgraded by Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) from a “Buy” rating to an “Underperform” rating. They have a price target of $46.00 on the company.

Allstate (ALL) was downgraded by Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) from a “Neutral” rating to a “Sell” rating.

AMR Co. (AMR) was downgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) from an “Overweight” rating to a “Neutral” rating.

Dividends on (FORTY) (ALL) (UBSI) (NDSN) Declared

Formula Systems (1985) Ltd. (NASDAQ:FORTY), Allstate Corp (NYSE:ALL), United Bankshares Inc. (NASDAQ:UBSI) and Nordson Corp (NASDAQ:NDSN) declare dividends.

The Board of Directors of Formula Systems (1985) Ltd. (FORTY) declared a quarterly common stock dividend of $0.71 per share payable 6/16/11 to shareholders of record at the close of business on 5/31/11.

The Board of Directors of Allstate Corp (ALL) declared a quarterly common stock dividend of $0.21 per share payable 7/1/11 to shareholders of record at the close of business on 5/31/11.

The Board of Directors of Astro-Med Inc (ALOT) declared a second quarter common stock dividend of $0.30 per share payable 7/1/11 to shareholders of record at the close of business on 6/10/11.

The Board of Directors of Nordson Corp (NDSN) declared a third quarter common stock dividend of $0.105 per share payable 6/14/11 to shareholders of record at the close of business on 6/1/11.

Dividend Yields for (MMC) (TRV) (ALL) (CB) (AFL)

Indicated dividend yields for Standard & Poor's 500 Index companies Marsh & McLennan Cos Inc (MMC), Travelers Cos Inc (TRV), Allstate Corp (ALL), Chubb Corp (CB) and Aflac Inc (AFL).

These dividend data indicate dividend yields of companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index as of Saturday, April 30. The yield is determined by taking the latest declared dividend, annualized and divided by the price of the stock. Payout ratios are calculated based on latest quarterly dividend paid divided by earnings.

Marsh & McLennan Cos Inc (MMC) has a dividend yield of 2.77 percent on a declared dividend of $0.55. The payout ratio is 60.2 percent.

Travelers Cos Inc (TRV) has a dividend yield of 2.59 percent on a declared dividend of $0.41. The payout ratio is 18.5 percent.

Allstate Corp (ALL) has a dividend yield of 2.48 percent on a declared dividend of $0.21. The payout ratio is 21.5 percent.

Chubb Corp (CB) has a dividend yield of 2.39 percent on a declared dividend of $0.39. The payout ratio is 17.2 percent.

Aflac Inc (AFL) has a dividend yield of 2.14 percent on a declared dividend of $0.30. The payout ratio is 32.2 percent.

Allstate (ALL) Adds BofA (BAC) to List of Banks its Suing

Bank of America's (NYSE:BAC) Merrill Lynch unit is the latest litigation target of Allstate (NYSE:ALL), which has sued the division for fraud over mortgage-backed securities.

The lawsuit claims Merrill Lynch fraudulently sold the insurer close to $167 million in residential mortgage-backed securities.

Allstate is asking for the lost market value of the securities, plus principal and interest payments; the same it is asking a number of other financial institutions.

Allstate said in the complaint, “Because of the systemic abandonment of underwriting standards and the resulting inclusion of toxic, highly risky mortgage loans to back the certificates, most of Allstate’s certificates have been downgraded from the highest possible ratings to junk-bond ratings.”

Other financial institutions sued by Allstate include Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS), Citigroup (NYSE:C), Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) and JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM).

TD Ameritrade (AMTD) Joins GE (GE), Coke (KO), McDonalds (MCD), Visa (V), AT&T (T) As USOC Sponsor

TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:AMTD) has reportedly signed on to be a sponsor for the U.S. Olympic Committee, the first in the online broker segment to do so.

They will join others like Acer, Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO), Visa (NYSE:V), Anheuser-Busch (NYSE:BUD), AT&T (NYSE:T), Dow Chemical (NYSE:DOW), Atos Origin, BMW Group NA, BP (NYSE:BP), General Electric (NYSE:GE), McDonald's (NYSE:MCD), Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG), Samsung, Panasonic (NYSE:PC), and Omega, which are already sponsors of the U.S. Olympic Committee.

Under terms of the deal, TD Ameritrade will sponsor the U.S. Olympic team competing at the 2012 Olympics in London, and will have marketing presence on NBC, which will broadcast the 2012 Summer Games.

Fred Tomczyk, president and CEO for TD Ameritrade, said, “We make a promise each day to our clients and associates – to relentlessly strive to exceed their expectations. We believe this sponsorship – with an organization whose values so closely mirror our own – is an extension of that promise. We look forward to celebrating and sharing this pride of sponsorship with all of our clients, associates and shareholders.”

In a separate sponsorship category are "Official" USOC sponsors, which include Allstate (NYSE:ALL), Deloitte, Hilton Worldwide, Nike (NYSE:NKE), Tyson (NYSE:TSN), Jet Set Sports and United Airlines

USOC CEO Scott Blackmun said in a statement, “TD Ameritrade believes in supporting America’s athletes, and in the power and inspiration of their journeys. It is a company that upholds the Olympic ideals in its own industry, and we are happy to have them on board. This agreement ushers in a new era of partnership and cooperation between the USOC and NBC. Working together, we can bring the U.S. Olympic movement to new audiences and to new heights.”

TD Ameritrade was trading at $21.77, up $0.44, or 2.06 percent, as of 2:39 PM EST.

Citigroup (C), Deutsche Bank (DB) Being Sued by Allstate (ALL)

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) has added banking giants Citigroup (NYSE:C) and Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) to the list of financial institutions they're suing. On February 15 they filed a lawsuit against JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM).

All of the complaints against the banks mentioned above center on allegations they fraudulently sold Allstate hundreds of millions in mortgage-backed securities.

Filed in New York state Supreme Court in Manhattan, Allstate is seeking to recover the lost market value of the securities, along with principal and interest payments.

In the complaint Alltate said, “Allstate was made to believe it was buying highly rated, safe securities. Defendants knew the pools were toxic mixes of loans extended to borrowers who could not afford the properties and thus were highly likely to default.”

Allstate said they acquired over $200 million of these securities from Citibank, and approximately $185 million from Deutsche Bank.

The suit filed against JPMorgan was for over $700 million in mortgage- backed securities.

JPMorgan (JPM) Accused of Fraud by AllState (ALL)

JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) had a lawsuit filed against it in New York State Supreme Court today by AllState (NYSE:ALL), citing fraud.

According to the complaint, mortgage-backed securities sold to them by Bear Stearns, Washington Mutual and JPMorgan were in fact "toxic," while being marketed as highly rated safe securities.

AllState asserted the banks "knew the pool was a toxic mix of loans given to borrowers that could not afford the properties, and thus were highly likely to default."

JPMorgan acquired Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual in 2008.

JPMorgan was trading at $48.05, gaining $1.23, or 2.63 percent, as of 1:05 PM EST.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL), Hanover (NYSE:THG), Travelers (NYSE:TRV), Arch Capital (Nasdaq:ACGL), Everest Re (NYSE:RE), ACE (NYSE:ACE), PartnerRe (NYSE:PRE)

The property-casualty insurance sector is expected to be under strong pressure in the fourth quarter of 2010, and insurers Allstate (NYSE:ALL), Hanover (NYSE:THG), Travelers (NYSE:TRV), Arch Capital (Nasdaq:ACGL), Everest Re (NYSE:RE), ACE (NYSE:ACE) and PartnerRe (NYSE:PRE) all had their EPS estimates lowered by Barclays.

Barclays said, "The fourth quarter 2010 earnings season is expected to be challenging for the property-casualty insurance sector. This is because P&C insurers are likely to suffer the first quarterly decline in linked-quarter book value since the 2008 financial crisis due to mark-to-market investment losses, and the outlook for 2011 is expected to be uninspiring. Also, 4Q10 EPS estimates appear too high in some cases due the risk of elevated catastrophe losses. In 2010, the Barclays Capital P&C Insurance Index modestly outperformed both the S&P 500 and S&P Financials. Currently, we recommend investors take profits in P&C insurance stocks (especially the insurance brokers) due to our outlook for challenged near-term results for P&C and concerns about a lack of pricing power."

"We are reducing our 4Q10 EPS estimates for Allstate, Hanover Insurance Group, Travelers due to our expectations of elevated U.S. storm losses, and we are lowering our 4Q EPS outlook for Arch Capital & Everest Re to reflect our concern that New Zealand earthquake loss estimates could rise beyond our existing catastrophe load."

"Within the P&C insurance sector, we prefer the shares of primary commercial P&C insurers and select diversified reinsurers over the personal lines P&C insurers and insurance brokers. Broadly, we favor the high-quality names with strong balance sheets, excess capital, and attractive valuations: TRV, ACE Ltd, ACGL, and PartnerRe ."

Bank of America's (NYSE:BAC) Headaches Growing from Countrywide Acquisition

It's a surety that Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) had an idea there would be some headaches related to their acquisition of Countrywide Financial, but the recent lawsuit by Allstate (NYSE:ALL) for $700 million against the banking giant for alleged lowering of mortgage standards, which resulted in loans facts being left out of the process, that would have shown the poor quality of the mortgage-backed securities they were purchasing.

Bank of America had nothing to do with originating loans, but via their acquisition of Countrywide in 2008 are now responsible and liable for them if they incur any damages.

BofA responded to the allegations in a statement saying, "We are still reviewing the complaint, but this unfortunately appears to be a situation where a sophisticated investor is looking for someone to blame for a downturn in the economy and losses on an investment it made."

Allstate acquired the mortgage-backed securities from March 2005 to June 2007.

Bank of America closed Tuesday at $13.34, up $0.07, or 0.53 percent. Allstate closed at $32.00, down $0.09, or 0.28 percent.

The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) EPS Estimates Challenged by Midwest Storms

EPS estimates for the fourth quarter for The Hanover Insurance Group (NYSE:THG) could be under pressure in light of the amount of damage from severe storms in the midwest.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS) said, "We met with The Hanover Insurance Group's CEO Fred Eppinger. THG appears confident it can improve its ROE by leveraging its expense base, raising rates in personal lines, and deploying excess capital (roughly $250 mn), although it is unclear to us how long this could take to achieve.

"Catastrophe losses in 4Q10 could be above average fourth quarter catastrophe losses due in part to severe Midwest storms. As a result, we believe THG could face difficulty achieving its FY2010 EPS guidance of $2.85-$3.10 (implies 4Q10 EPS of $1.17-$1.42 vs our $1.01 estimate, which could be optimistic). Higher-than-average 4Q10 catastrophe losses is a negative lateral for Allstate (NYSE:ALL), and to a lesser extent Travelers (NYSE:TRV) & Chubb (NYSE:CB)."

Barclays maintains an "Equalweight" on The Hanover Insurance Group, which closed Wednesday at $47.41, down $0.18, or 0.38 percent. They have a price target of $46 on the company.

Top Ten Calls Recommended by Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS)

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) released a list of their top ten calls in the financial sector, targeting those lagging behind the market in the midst of what they perceive as improving fundamentals.

They see the overall sector rising.

The 10 companies the options strategists at Goldman recommend are these: IntercontinentalExchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE), Allstate Corporation (NYSE:ALL), Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV), Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN), The Chubb Corporation (NYSE:CB), Moody's Corp. (NYSE:MCO), Progressive Corp. (NYSE:PGR), State Street Corp. (NYSE:STT), NYSE Euronext, Inc. (NYSE:NYX) and T. Rowe Price (Nasdaq:TROW).

IntercontinentalExchange, Inc. was trading at $117.87, up $1.49, or 1.28 percent, as of 12:14 PM EST. Allstate was at $30.98, up $ 0.03, or 0.10 percent. Travelers was at $55.42, up $0.08, or 0.14 percent. Franklin Resources was trading at $117.37, up $0.93, or 0.80 percent. Chubb was at $59.53, up $0.04, or 0.07 percent. Moody's was at $27.40, up $0.07, or 0.26 percent. Progressive was up to $20.62, gaining $0.18, or 0.88 percent. State Street moved up to $45.60, rising by $0.40, or 0.88 percent. NYSE Euronext was up to $29.62, gaining $0.27, or 0.92 percent. T.Rowe Price was trading at $63.31, up $0.53, or 0.84 percent.

All 10 companies were positive as of this writing.

Why Allstate (NYSE:ALL) Continues to Miss Earnings

Noting that Allstate (NYSE:ALL) has a terrible record on meeting EPS estimates, FBR Capital talks on why they continue to underperform in that key metric.

FBR says, "Since the end of 4Q06, Allstate has missed earnings estimates in 12 out of the past 15 quarters, book value has grown a modest 1.8% despite retained earnings and a massive rally in the bond market, and the stock has fallen by more than 50% (S&P 500 off about 15%). Catastrophe losses and poor decisions in the investment portfolio are partly to blame. In addition, the company’s reserves reversed directions (i.e., from redundancy to deficiency), the life operation wreaked havoc on both the income statement and balance sheet, and other strategic missteps just added insult to injury."

FBR Capital maintains an "Outperform" on Allstate, which closed Tuesday at $30.45, up by $0.28, or 0.93 percent. FBR has a price target on them of $43.