AuRico (AUQ) (BAH) (CBRL) (HFC) (ALEX) (LULU) Upgraded

AuRico Gold (NYSE: AUQ), Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Co. (NYSE: BAH), Cracker Barrel (NASDAQ: CBRL), HollyFrontier (NYSE: HFC), Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALEX) and Lululemon (NASDAQ: LULU) were upgraded by analysts.

AuRico Gold (AUQ) was upgraded by Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) from a “Neutral” rating to a “Buy” rating.

Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Co. (BAH) was upgraded by Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE:WFC) from a “Market Perform” rating to an “Outperform” rating.

Cracker Barrel (CBRL) was upgraded by Morgan Keegan from a “Market Perform” rating to an “Outperform” rating. They have a price target of $58.00 on the company, up from $45.00.

HollyFrontier (HFC) was upgraded by Bank of America from a “Neutral” rating to a “Buy” rating.

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

Lululemon (LULU) was upgraded by KeyBanc from an “Underweight” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $58.00 on the company.

AuRico Gold (AUQ) a Buy After (NXG) Bid?

After the bid by AuRico Gold (NYSE:AUQ) for Northgate Minerals (NYSE:NXG) for all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Northgate for 0.365 AuRico shares per Northgate share, a 45 percent premium for Northgate shareholders, shares of each company went in opposite directions.

AuRico Gold was getting hammered after paying the 45 percent premium, falling to $11.23, down $2.69, or 19.32 percent, as of 2:53 PM EDT. That suggests it may be a good time to look at the shares.

The new entity, if approved, would include five operating gold mines, with another one scheduled to begin production in 2012. There are also three other gold projects in development in Australia, Canada and Mexico.

Combined, the company would produce about 470,000 ounces of gold in 2011, an increase over the prior 280,000 ounces.

Northgate was trading at $3.9850, gaining $0.8350, or 26.51 percent, as of 2:57 PM EDT.