Alamos (AGI) (ABG) (CLF) (GUY) (AUY) (PAAS) (SSRI) Ratings Changes

Alamos Gold (AGI), African Barrick Gold (ABG), Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF), Guyana Goldfields (GUY), Yamana Gold (AUY), Pan American Silver Corp (PAAS) and Silver Standard Resources (SSRI) had ratings on them changed by analysts.

Investec upgraded African Barrick Gold (ABG) to a "Buy" rating.

Deutsche Bank upgraded Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF) from a "Hold" rating to a "Buy" rating. They have a price target of $48.00 on the company.

RBC Capital upgraded Guyana Goldfields (GUY) from a "Sector Perform" rating to an "Outperform" rating. They have a price target of $6.00 on the company.

Davy downgraded Yamana Gold (AUY) from an "Outperform" rating to a "Neutral" rating.

Deutsche Bank downgraded Pan American Silver (PAAS) from a "Buy" rating to a "Hold" rating. They have a price target of $20.00 on the company.

Deutsche Bank downgraded Silver Standard Resources (SSRI) from a "Hold" rating to a "Sell" rating. They have a price target of $12.50 on the company.

Targa (TRGP) (ECA) (EE) (EPB) (BG) (CLF) Ratings, Price Targets

Targa Resources Investments (NASDAQ: TRGP), EnCana Co. (NYSE: ECA), El Paso Electric (NYSE: EE), El Paso Pipeline Partners (NYSE: EPB), Bunge Limited (NYSE: BG) and Cliffs Natural Resources (NYSE: CLF) ratings and price targets.

Targa Resources Investments (TRGP) was downgraded by Tudor Pickering from a “Buy” rating to an “Accumulate” rating.

EnCana Co. (ECA) was upgraded by ISI Group from a “Sell” rating to a “Buy” rating.

El Paso Electric (EE) was upgraded by Jefferies Group (NYSE:JEF) from an “Underperform” rating to a “Hold” rating. They have a price target of $34.50 on the company, up from $28.00.

El Paso Pipeline Partners (EPB) was upgraded by Tudor Pickering from a “Hold” rating to an “Accumulate” rating.

Bunge Limited (BG) is now covered by Piper Jaffray (NYSE:PJC). They placed a “Neutral” rating and a price target of $63.00 on the company.

Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF) is now covered by RBC Capital. They placed an “Outperform” rating and a price target of $87.00 on the company.

Cliffs (CLF) (MSPD) (COLM) (HELE) (ECA) (ETP) Ratings, Price Targets

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLF), Mindspeed Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: MSPD), Columbia Sportswear (NASDAQ: COLM), Helen of Troy (NASDAQ: HELE), EnCana Co. (NYSE: ECA) and Energy Transfer (NYSE: ETP) ratings and price targets.

Mindspeed Technologies, Inc. (MSPD) had its “buy” rating reiterated by Needham & Company.

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (CLF) is now covered by RBC Capital. They have an “outperform” rating and a price target of $87.00 on the company.

Columbia Sportswear (COLM) is now covered by DA Davidson. They have a “neutral” rating and a price target of $48.00 on the company.

Helen of Troy (HELE) had its price target raised by Imperial Capital from $35.00 to $40.00.

EnCana Co. (ECA) was downgraded by BMO Capital Markets from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating. They have a price target of $20.00 on the company, down from $22.00.

Energy Transfer (ETP) was downgraded by Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) to a “neutral” rating.

CRH PLC (CRH) (TEA) (TEL) (CIEN) (CLF) (CMCSA) Ratings, Price Targets

CRH PLC (CRH), Teavana (TEA), Tyco (TEL), Ciena Corp. (CIEN), Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (CLF) and Comcast Co. (CMCSA) ratings and price targets.

HSBC (NYSE:HBC) downgraded CRH PLC (CRH) from a “Neutral” rating to an
“Underweight” rating.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) reiterated its “Equal Weight” on Teavana (TEA).

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) upgraded Tyco (TEL) from a “Neutral” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $39.00 on the company.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) reiterated its “Neutral” rating on Ciena Corp. (CIEN). They have a price target of $14.00 on the company.

Goldman Sachs initiated coverage on Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (CLF). They placed a “Buy” rating on the company.

Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Comcast Co. (CMCSA) from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $32.00 on the company.

Avago (AVGO) (WDC) (ZUMZ) (ASH) (ASNA) (NYSE: CLF) Price Targets Changed

Avago Technologies (NASDAQ: AVGO), Western Digital (NYSE: WDC), Zumiez (NASDAQ: ZUMZ), Ashland Inc. (NYSE: ASH), Ascena Retail Group Inc. (NASDAQ: ASNA) and Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLF) had price targets on them adjusted by analysts.

Avago Technologies (AVGO) had its price target lowered by Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) to $41.00.

Western Digital (WDC) had its price target raised by FBN Securities to $40.00. They have a “Market Perform” rating on the company.

Zumiez (ZUMZ) had its price target raised by Jefferies to $23.00.

Ashland Inc. (ASH) had its price target raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) to $65.00.

Ascena Retail Group Inc. (ASNA) had its price target lowered by Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) to $29.00.

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (CLF) had its price target lowered by Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) to $90.00.

Cliffs (CLF) (SMFG) (STLD) (SUBCY) (CELG) (CHSP) Get New Coverage

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLF), Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (NASDAQ: SMFG), Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ: STLD), Subsea 7 SA (NASDAQ: SUBCY), Celgene (NASDAQ: CELG) and Chesapeake Lodging Trust (NASDAQ: CHSP) getting new coverage from analysts.

Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) initiated coverage on Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG). They placed a “Buy” rating on the company.

Macquarie initiated coverage on Steel Dynamics, Inc. (STLD). They placed a “Neutral” rating on the company.

HSBC (NYSE:HBC) initiated coverage on Subsea 7 SA (SUBCY). They placed an “Overweight” rating on the company.

Auriga initiated coverage on Celgene (CELG). They placed a “Buy” rating on the company.

Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on Chesapeake Lodging Trust (CHSP). They placed a “Buy” rating on the company.

Macquarie initiated coverage on Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (CLF). They placed an “Outperform” rating on the company.

CBS (CBS) (CADX) (VTR) (CHK) (CL) (CLF) Price Targets Changed

CBS (NYSE: CBS), Cadence Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: CADX), Ventas (NYSE: VTR), Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK), Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE: CL) and Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLF) had price targets on them adjusted by analysts.

CBS (CBS) had its price target raised by Benchmark Co. from $27.00 to $30.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

Cadence Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (CADX) had its price target lowered by Ladenburg Thalmann to $7.00.

Ventas (VTR) had its price target raised by Morgan Keegan to $62.00.

Chesapeake Energy (CHK) had its price target lowered by Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) to $40.00.

Colgate-Palmolive Company (CL) had its price target raised by Caris & Company from $83.00 to $98.00. They have an “Average” rating on the company.

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (CLF) had its price target lowered by FBR Capital from $119.00 to $115.00. They have an “Outperform” rating on the company.

Cliffs (CLF) (NSC) (NUVA) (NXPI) (CAVM) (CI) Price Targets Changed

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLF), Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE: NSC), NuVasive (NASDAQ: NUVA), NXP Semiconductors (NASDAQ: NXPI), Cavium Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: CAVM) and CIGNA Co. (NYSE: CI) had price targets on them adjusted by analysts.

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (CLF) had its price target lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) to $116.00.

Norfolk Southern Corp. (NSC) had its price target raised by Barclays Capital from $84.00 to $86.00. They have an “Overweight” rating on the company.

NuVasive (NUVA) had its price target lowered by RBC Capital from $22.00 to $19.00. They have a “Sector Perform” rating on the company.

NXP Semiconductors (NXPI) had its price target lowered by Barclays Capital from $26.00 to $24.00. They have an “Overweight” rating on the company.

Cavium Networks, Inc. (CAVM) had its price target raised by Auriga to $39.00.

CIGNA Co. (CI) had its price target raised by Oppenheimer to $58.00. They have an “Outperform” rating on the company.

Cliffs (CLF) (TSYS) (VAR) (VRTX) (CLD) (CNMD) Price Targets Changed

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLF), TeleCommunication Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSYS), Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR), Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: VRTX), Cloud Peak Energy (NYSE: CLD) and CONMED (NASDAQ: CNMD) had price targets on them adjusted by analysts.

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (CLF) had its price target lowered by UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) from $124.00 to $121.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

TeleCommunication Systems, Inc. (TSYS) had its price target lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) to $5.50.

Varian Medical Systems (VAR) had its price target raised by Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) from $50.00 to $53.00. They have a “Sell” rating on the company.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) had its price target lowered by UBS AG from $56.00 to $47.00. They have a “Neutral” rating on the company.

Cloud Peak Energy (CLD) had its price target raised by Dahlman Rose from $24.00 to $34.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

CONMED (CNMD) had its price target lowered by Piper Jaffray (NYSE:PJC) to $31.00. They have a “Neutral” rating on the company.

Bankrate (RATE) (RBC) (ACTV) (DIS) (ANX) (CLF) Price Targets Changed

Bankrate (NASDAQ: RATE), Regal Beloit (NYSE: RBC), Active Network (NASDAQ: ACTV), Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS), Adventrx Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: ANX) and Cliffs Natural Resources Inc (NYSE: CLF) have price targets adjusted by analysts.

Bankrate (RATE) had its price target raised by Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) to $19.00. They have a “Neutral” rating on the company.

Regal Beloit (RBC) had its price target raised by RBC Capital from $16.00 to $19.00. They have a “Sector Perform” rating on the company.

Active Network (ACTV) had its price target raised by Stifel Nicolaus from $18.00 to $21.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

Walt Disney (DIS) had its price target lowered by Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) to $42.00. They have an “Overweight” rating on the company.

Adventrx Pharmaceuticals (ANX) had its price target lowered by Rodman & Renshaw from $16.00 to $9.00. They have an “Outperform” rating on the company.

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (CLF) had its price target lowered by FBR Capital from $140.00 to $134.00. They have an “Outperform” rating on the company.

Arch Coal (ACI) (AEP) (AGU) (CF) (CLF) (CMP) Price Targets Changed

Arch Coal, Inc. (NYSE: ACI), American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), Agrium Inc. (USA) (NYSE: AGU), CF Industries Holdings Inc (NYSE: CF), Cliffs Natural Resources Inc (NYSE: CLF) and Compass Minerals International, Inc. (NYSE: CMP) price targets adjusted by analysts.

Arch Coal, Inc. (ACI) had its price target lowered by Brean Murray from $43.00 to $39.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

American Electric Power (AEP) had its price target cut by Jefferies to $39.00.

Agrium Inc. (AGU) had its price target boosted by Chardan Capital Markets from $87.00to $92.00.

CF Industries Holdings (CF) had its price target raised by Chardan Capital Markets from $155.00 to $175.00.

Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF) had its price target lowered by FBR Capital from $144.00 to $140.00. They have an “Outperform” rating on the company.

Compass Minerals International, Inc. (CMP) had its price target lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) to $83.00.

Bunge (BG) (ADM) (MUR) (CLF) (DTE) (TNAV) Ratings Reiterated

Bunge Limited (NYSE: BG), Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM), Murphy Oil Corp (NYSE: MUR), Cliffs Natural Resources Inc (NYSE: CLF), DTE Energy Co (NYSE: DTE) and Telenav Inc. (NASDAQ: TNAV) had ratings reiterated by analysts.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) reiterated its "Overweight" rating on Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM).

Scotia Capital reiterated its "Sector Perform" rating on Murphy Oil Corp. (MUR).

Morgan Stanley reiterated an "Equal Weight" rating on Bunge Limited (BG).

Dahlman Rose reiterated its "Buy" rating on Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (CLF). They have a price target of $120.00 on the company.

Wunderlich reiterated a "Hold" rating on DTE Energy Co. (DTE).

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) reiterated a "Neutral" rating on Telenav Inc. (TNAV).

Murphy Oil (MUR) (CLF) (ARLP) (BA) (COP) (CP) (EXC) Price Targets Changed

Murphy Oil Corp (NYSE: MUR), Cliffs Natural Resources Inc (NYSE: CLF), Alliance Resource (NASDAQ: ARLP), The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA), ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (NYSE: CP) and Exelon Co. (NYSE: EXC) had price targets on them adjusted.

Murphy Oil Corp. (MUR) had its price target lowered by UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) from $72.00 to $68.00. They have a “Neutral” rating on the company.

Alliance Resource (ARLP) had its price target raised by Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) from $75.00 to $80.00. They have a “Hold” rating on the company.

The Boeing Company (BA) had its price target raised by Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) to $96.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (CLF) had its price target slashed by UBS AG to $122.00. They have a “buy” rating on the company.

ConocoPhillips (COP) had its price target lowered by UBS AG from $80.00 to $77.00. They have a “Neutral” rating on the company.

Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (CP) had its price target raised by Barclays Capital from $70.00 to $73.00. They have an “Underweight” rating on the company.

Exelon Co. (EXC) had its price target raised by Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) to $49.50.

Cliffs (CLF) (GSM) (MRO) (SOLR) (GOOG) Ratings Reiterated

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc (NYSE: CLF), Globe Specialty Metals, Inc. (NYSE: GSM), Marathon Oil Co. (NYSE: MRO), GT Solar International, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOLR) and Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) had ratings reiterated on them by analysts.

Dahlman Rose raiterated a "Buy" rating Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF). They have a price target of $120.00 on the company.

Oppenheimer maintains an "Outperform" rating on Globe Specialty Metals, Inc. (GSM).

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) reiterates a "Neutral" rating on Marathon Oil Co. (MRO).

Piper Jaffray (NYSE:PJC) reiterated an "Overweight" on GT Solar International, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOLR). They have a price target of $24.00 on the company.

Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) maintains a "Buy" rating on Google Inc. (GOOG). They have a price target of $725.00 on the company.

Cliffs Natural Resources closed Wednesday at $96.95, gaining $2.19, or 2.31 percent. Globe Specialty Metals, Inc. ended the day at $24.90, rising $1.30, or 5.51 percent. Marathon Oil closed at $31.71, jumping $0.19, or 0.60 percent. GT Solar International closed at $15.15, climbing $0.76, or 5.28 percent. Google ended the session at $538.26, rising $4.25, or 0.80 percent.

Price Targets on (BA) (CLF) (CRM) (DLTR) (FLO) Updated

Price targets on shares of The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA), Cliffs Natural Resources Inc (NYSE: CLF), Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM), Dollar Tree Inc (NASDAQ: DLTR) and Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE: FLO) were updated by analysts.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) raised their price target on The Boeing Company (BA) to $85.00.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) raised their price target on Cliffs Natural Resources Inc (CLF) to $70.00.

Wedbush raised their price target on Salesforce.com (CRM) to $170.00.

Feltl & Co. raised their price target on Dollar Tree Inc ( DLTR) from $69.00 to $83.00. They have a “strong buy” rating on the company.

Longbow Research raised their price target on Flowers Foods, Inc. (FLO) from $35.00 to $37.00. They have a “buy” rating on the company.

Dividend Yields for (BLL) (AA) (FMC) (CLF) (X)

Indicated dividend yields for Standard & Poor's 500 Index companies Ball Corp (BLL), Alcoa Inc (AA), FMC Corp (FMC), Cliffs Natural Resources Inc (CLF) and United States Steel Corp (X).

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.

Ball Corp (BLL) has a dividend yield of 0.75 percent on a declared dividend of $0.07. The payout ratio is 6.4 percent.

Alcoa Inc (AA) has a dividend yield of 0.71 percent on a declared dividend of $0.03. The payout ratio is 10.4 percent.

FMC Corp (FMC) has a dividend yield of 0.68 percent on a declared dividend of $0.15. The payout ratio is 10.9 percent.

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc (CLF) has a dividend yield of 0.60 percent on a declared dividend of $0.14. The payout ratio is 4.5 percent.

United States Steel Corp (X) has a dividend yield of 0.42 percent on a declared dividend of $0.05. The payout ratio is na.

Haynes (HAYN) (SYNL) (X) (SID) (CLF) Pressured on Low Growth Steel Outlook

The steel industry, even with some strong recent quarters, looks weak, as over the next five years it is expected to grow at a pace of about 5 percent or less annually, putting downward pressure on steel companies like Haynes International Inc. (Nasdaq:HAYN), Synalloy Corp. (Nasdaq:SYNL), US Steel (NYSE:X), Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (NYSE:SID) and Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE:CLF); although they traded a little stronger Thursday.

A majority of steel companies are being forced to raise prices on their products in order to protect margins and earnings as the price of inputs and commodities rise.

That's not to say steel demand is falling, because it's not. But rising demand doesn't guarantee rising profits, as the industry is experiencing. A number of weak economies around the world could cut also into demand if steel prices and products rise to prohibitive levels.

There's no way to spin the outlook for the steel industry positively. The industry will struggle for years even in the midst of strong demand, as they attempt to work out the balance between steel demand, rising inputs, and ability for companies and countries to afford price increases from producers.

It also looks like the U.S. economy is starting to sputter again, and that's not good news for the steel industry either.

Mechel (MTL) (ZEUS) (HAYN) (CLF) Get Boost from Steel Consumption Report, (STLD)

Investors have suddenly become steel industry and company believers after the performance of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (Nasdaq:STLD) and the release of estimates for glow steel production by the World Steel Association, which pushed up the share prices of Mechel OAO (NYSE:MTL), Olympic Steel Inc. (Nasdaq:ZEUS), Haynes International Inc. (Nasdaq:HAYN) and Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE:CLF) Wednesday.

Steel Dynamics gave as its reason for the optimism as growing backlogs in the company’s structural and rail division, but quietly added some of that could have been weather-related.

Also the projected global steel consumption growth of 5.9 percent didn't included the potential devastating effect the slowdown in Japan will have, as it's the largest consumer of steel in the world. Without that, the numbers are pretty meaningless. And it will take time, as with everything related to Japan at this time, before we know the full impact on steel and other sectors.

Haynes International Inc. closed Wednesday at $49.89, gaining $1.14, or 2.34 percent. Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. ended the day at $95.91, up $1.01, or 1.06 percent. Olympic Steel Inc. closed at $30.71, jumping $0.15, or 0.49 percent. Mechel OAO closed the session at $28.75, rising $0.69, or 2.46 percent.

FedEx (FDX), (AKAM), (CLF), (NOV), (SLB) Lead S&P 500

FedEx (NYSE:FDX), Akamai (NASDAQ:AKAM), Cliff Natural Resources (NYSE:CLF), National Oilwell Varco (NYSE:NOV), and Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) were leading the S&P 500 up today, with FedEx helping pull the index up after a solid earnings report.

The delivery company was up over 5 percent earlier in the session but have pulled back some as the day progressed.

Natural resource and energy companies are dominating the S&P today, with others like Diamond Offshore (DO), Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD), Deere & Co. (DE) and Noble Energy (NBL) among the top performers.

Schlumberger was trading at $86.31, gaining $3.21, or 3.86 percent, as of 2:30 PM EDT. National Oilwell Varco was at $77.54, up $3.13, or 4.21 percent. Akamai was trading at $36.68, adding $1.72, or 4.92 percent. Cliffs Natural Resources was trading at $88.30, gaining $4.57, or 5.46 percent. FedEx was at $88.36, up $3.08, or 3.61 percent.

FBR Says (ACI), (CLF), (ANR), (CLD), (BTU), (CNX) Should Jump on Nuclear Woes

We'll have to wait to see what effects the inevitable knee jerk reaction from politicians will have on the nuclear sector, but any slowdown there, which is a strong probability, will result in a boost in coal and steel, which should benefit companies like Consol Energy (NYSE:CNX), Arch Coal (NYSE:ACI), Cliffs Natural Resources (NYSE:CLF), Alpha Natural Resources (NYSE:ANR), Cloud Peak Energy (NYSE:CLD) and Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU).

FBR said, “We note the recent pullback in coal stocks due to fears of China slowing and, then, potential temporary demand loss from Japan’s earthquake. With stocks now offering about 31% upside potential to our price targets, and valuation becoming attractive, we believe investors should start picking up quality names, such as Arch Coal (ACI), Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF), Alpha Natural Resources (ANR), Cloud Peak Energy (CLD), Peabody Energy (BTU), and Consol Energy (CNX). We are also becoming more constructive now on met names but look for the appropriate time, valuation, or catalyst to step into the names.”

“[I}n the mid to long term, we are confident that Japan will rebuild and upgrade all the houses, cars, and dilapidated infrastructure, which is positive for new steel demand and, thus, iron ore and met coal,” added FBR.

For coal, FBR believes it could rise from 4 percent to 5-6 percent a year over the next several years.