Southern (SO) (UA) (FTNT) (HOTT) (GBX) (GDOT) Upgraded

Southern Co (NYSE: SO), Under Armour, Inc. (NYSE: UA), Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ: FTNT), Hot Topic Inc (NASDAQ: HOTT), Greenbrier Companies (NYSE: GBX) and Green Dot Co. (NASDAQ: GDOT) upgraded by analysts.

Under Armour, Inc. (UA) was upgraded by FBR Capital from a “Market Perform” rating to an “Outperform” rating. They have a price target of $80.00 on the company.

Fortinet, Inc. (FTNT) was upgraded by Pacific Crest to an “Outperform” rating. They have a price target of $26.00 on the company.

Hot Topic Inc. (HOTT) was upgraded by Piper Jaffray (NYSE:PJC) from an “Underweight” rating to a “Neutral” rating.

Greenbrier Companies (GBX) was upgraded by Longbow Research from a “Neutral” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $24.00 on the company.

Southern Co. (SO) was upgraded by ISI Group from a “Sell” rating to a “Hold” rating.

Green Dot Co. (GDOT) was upgraded by Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) from a “Neutral” rating to a “Buy” rating.

Monsanto (MON) (KBH) (GBX) (RAD) Reporting Earnings This Week

Monsanto (NYSE:MON), KB Home (NYSE:KBH), Greenbrier (NYSE:GBX) and RiteAid (RAD) are all reporting earnings this week, with Alcoa (NYSE:AA) set to report earnings on April 11, in what some consider the official kicking off of the earnings reporting season.

These companies will give a snapshot of what to expect going forward, as they represent agriculture, new home starts, freight transportation and retail, although RiteAid may or may not be a legitimate bellwether in the regard because of its struggles and volatility. They probably won't be a good representative of retail and pharmacies because of that.

As for Alcoa, its expected to kick off with some good numbers, as the company has done a decent job of cutting costs and has been riding rising aluminum demand and prices.

What will be important for all of these companies will be in guidance. Recent disruptions in Japan could have an impact on the companies, with Alcoa, KB Home and Greenbrier especially, based on supplies and whether not that could affect home costs and freight delivery, as well as the obvious issues related to Alcoa and its supply of aluminum to the auto industry.

Greenbrier (NYSE:GBX) Great Play in Railcar Upswing says Jefferies (NYSE:JEF)

With the railcar segment apparently in a rebound cycle, Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) sees Greenbrier Companies (NYSE:GBX) as one of the best ways to play the move.

So far in the first quarter of 2011 Greenbrier has delivered right around 1,000 cars, while also having other orders and a solid backlog.

At this pace there will be no problem for GBX to meet their projection of delivering 9 to 11 thousand cars for full year 2011.

Jefferies boosted their full year 2011 and full year 2012 EPS estimates $0.60 and $1.50 to $0.70 and $1.55 based on higher delivery estimates.

Jefferies maintains their "Buy" rating on Greenbrier Companies, which closed Monday at $20.45, down $0.69, or 3.26 percent. Jefferies increased their price target on them from $23 to $24.