Ross (ROST) (SIMO) (SLE) (TEN) (RDC) (RDK) Ratings, Price Targets

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: ROST), Silicon Motion Technology Corp. (NASDAQ: SIMO), Sara Lee (NYSE: SLE), Tenneco Inc. (NYSE: TEN), Rowan Companies, Inc. (NYSE: RDC) and Ruddick Corporation (NYSE: RDK) had ratings and price targets on them adjusted by analysts.

Ross Stores, Inc. (ROST) had its price target raised by FBR Capital from $57.00 to $60.00. They have an “Outperform” rating on the company.

Silicon Motion Technology Corp. (SIMO) had its price target raised by Needham & Company from $25.00 to $30.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

Sara Lee (SLE) had its price target raised by Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB)to $20.00.

Tenneco Inc. (TEN) had its price target lowered by Deutsche Bank to $40.00.

Rowan Companies, Inc. (RDC) was upgraded by Global Hunter Securities from an “Accumulate” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $46.00 on the company, up from $36.00.

Ruddick Corporation (RDK) was upgraded by BB&T (NYSE:BBT) from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating.

Sara Lee (SLE) (ITMN) (KEYW) (MOS) (PLD) Ratings, Price Targets

Sara Lee (NYSE: SLE), InterMune, Inc. (NASDAQ: ITMN), KEYW Holding (NASDAQ: KEYW), The Mosaic Company (NYSE: MOS) and ProLogis (NYSE: PLD) ratings and price targets.

InterMune, Inc. (ITMN) had its “neutral” rating reiterated by Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS).

Ironwood (IRWD) is now covered by ThinkEquity. They have a “hold” rating on the company.

KEYW Holding (KEYW) is now covered by Sterne Agee. They have a “buy” rating on the company.

The Mosaic Company (MOS) had its price target lowered by Ticonderoga from $74.00 to $70.00. They have a “buy” rating on the company.

ProLogis (PLD) was downgraded by UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating.

Sara Lee (SLE) was upgraded by Zacks Investment Research from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating. They have a price target of $20.00 on the company.

Sara Lee (SLE) (EQIX) (HAIN) (HSP) (STRI) Upgraded

Sara Lee (NYSE: SLE), Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ: EQIX), The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAIN), Hospira, Inc. (NYSE: HSP) and STR Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: STRI) upgraded by analysts.

Sara Lee (SLE) was upgraded by analysts at Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $21.00 on the company.

Equinix, Inc. (EQIX) was upgraded by William Blair from a “Market Perform” rating to an “Outperform” rating.

The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (HAIN) was upgraded by RBC Capital from a “Sector Perform” rating to an “Outperform” rating. They have a price target of $37.00 on the company.

Hospira, Inc. (HSP) was upgraded by Citigroup (NYSE:C) from a “Sell” rating to a “Hold” rating. They have a price target of $49.00 on the company.

STR Holdings, Inc. (STRI) was upgraded by Craig Hallum from a “Buy” rating to a “Hold” rating.

Sara Lee (SLE) (ADI) (PPS) (AMAT) (PLAB) (CHD) Price Targets Changed

Sara Lee (NYSE: SLE), Analog Devices, Inc. (NYSE: ADI), Post Properties, Inc. (NYSE: PPS), Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT), Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLAB) and Church & Dwight Co Inc (NYSE: CHD) price targets adjusted by analysts.

Sara Lee (SLE) had its price target lowered by Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) to $19.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI) had its price target lowered by Citigroup (NYSE:C) to $43.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

Post Properties, Inc. (PPS) had its price target raised by RBC Capital from $44.00 to $49.00. They have an “Outperform” rating on the company.

Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) had its price target lowered by UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) to $12.50. They have a “Neutral” rating on the company.

Photronics, Inc. (PLAB) had its price target lowered by Needham & Company from $13.00 to $11.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

Church & Dwight Co. Inc. (NYSE: CHD) had its price target raised by

William Blair from $42.50 to $45.50. They have an “Outperform” rating on the company.

DeVry (DV) (SLE) (AMSC) (ENS) (AVGO) Price Targets Changed

DeVry Inc. (NYSE: DV), Sara Lee (NYSE: SLE), American Superconductor Co. (NASDAQ: AMSC), EnerSys (NYSE: ENS) and Avago Technologies (NASDAQ: AVGO) price targets adjusted by analysts.

Sara Lee (SLE) had its price target lowered by Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) from $22.00 to $20.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

American Superconductor Co. (AMSC) had its price target lowered by Ardour Capital from $8.50 to $6.50. They now have a “Hold” rating on the company.

EnerSys (ENS) had its price target lowered by Needham & Company from $42.00 to $36.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

Avago Technologies (AVGO) had its price target lowered by Citigroup (NYSE:C) to $40.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

DeVry Inc. (DV) had its price target lowered by UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) from $75.00 to $70.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

Wal-Mart (WMT) (TNK) (SLE) (TEVA) (ITW) (IMMR) Downgraded

Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE: WMT), Teekay Tankers Ltd. (NYSE: TNK), Sara Lee (NYSE: SLE), Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (NASDAQ: TEVA), Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE: ITW) and Immersion Corp. (NASDAQ: IMMR) were downgraded by analysts.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT) was downgraded by Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) to a “Hold” rating. They have a price target of $56.00 on the company.

Teekay Tankers Ltd. (TNK) was downgraded by Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) from a “Buy” rating to a “Hold” rating.

Sara Lee (SLE) was downgraded by Sanford C. Bernstein from an “Outperform” rating to a “Market Perform” rating.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (TEVA) was downgraded by Oppenheimer from an “Outperform” rating to a “Perform” rating.

Illinois Tool Works Inc. (ITW) was downgraded by ISI Group from a “Buy” rating to a “Hold” rating.

Immersion Corp. (IMMR) was downgraded by Capstone from a “Buy” rating to a “Hold” rating.

Ratings on (SBNY) (SLE) (STEC) Upgraded

Ratings on Signature Bank (NASDAQ: SBNY), Sara Lee (NYSE: SLE) and STEC Inc (NASDAQ: STEC) were upgraded by analysts.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) upgraded Signature Bank (SBNY) from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating. They have a price target of $65.00 on the company.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Sara Lee (SLE) from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating. They have a price target of $23.00 on the company, up from $21.00.

Benchmark Co. upgraded STEC Inc (STEC) from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating. They have a price target of $21.00 on the company.

Dividend Yields for (GIS) (PEP) (KO) (DPS) (SLE)

Indicated dividend yields for Standard & Poor's 500 Index companies General Mills Inc (GIS), PepsiCo Inc (PEP), Coca-Cola Co (KO), Dr Pepper Snapple Group (DPS) and Sara Lee Corp (SLE).

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.

General Mills Inc (GIS) has a dividend yield of 2.90 percent on a declared dividend of $0.28. The payout ratio is 46.2 percent.

PepsiCo Inc (PEP) has a dividend yield of 2.79 percent on a declared dividend of $0.48. The payout ratio is 66.5 percent.

Coca-Cola (KO) has a dividend yield of 2.79 percent on a declared dividend of $0.47. The payout ratio is 56.7 percent.

Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc (DPS) has a dividend yield of 2.55 percent on a declared dividend of $0.25. The payout ratio is 49.0 percent.

Sara Lee Corp (SLE) has a dividend yield of 2.40 percent on a declared dividend of $0.12. The payout ratio is 69.9 percent.

Kellogg (NYSE:K), General Mills (NYSE:GIS), Sara Lee (NYSE:SLE), Pepsico (NYSE:PEP) Good Investments

The branded food industry, represented by companies like Kellogg's (NYSE:K), General Mills (NYSE:GIS), Sara Lee (NYSE:SLE) and Pepsico (NYSE:PEP), are going to struggle for some time, as rising food prices will pressure margins, and even some boosts in food prices will be risky in light of people having the option of returning to generic food labels.

Increasing food demand and some weather conditions have resulted in the price of food skyrocketing, and as far as food demand goes, that isn't going to go away for a long time to come.

So where does that leave the branded food companies? In a very weak place. There's little they can do to combat the situation, and only raising prices can help them in their fight against shrinking margins and earnings, which is a limited option at best, and one they can only take so far.

Far better agricultural or food plays would be futures for some, and in those providing fertilizer and machinery to farmers. Food companies are going to be under immense pressure, and there is no doubt over the long term their business models will be questioned.

Other food areas that need to be watched closely are meat providers and restaurants, which will struggle in a very similar way as food companies, although restaurants may have some more options because not all food will rise, and they could spread price increases across the overall meal with not as much negative feedback.

Grocery store prices are watched on an individual item basis when prices are up, and shoppers quickly respond by going to a different item or category, such as generic mentioned above.

John Deere (NYSE:DE), Potash Corp. (NYSE:POT), Monsanto (NYSE:MON) Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) and Agrium (NYSE:AGU) are all solid plays whose products will be required to serve the growing demand for food, no matter what the end-product prices will be at the store.

Companies like these can pass input prices onto farmers, farmers onto processors and processors onto food companies. At that point, the limitations of the market come in, and there is less that can be done at that level than those before it.

That's not to say there aren't pressures below that level, as Monsanto found out with farmers who gravitated toward seeds from DuPont (NYSE:DD) when they felt the seed prices of Monsanto were too high. That was even with Monsanto having a superior seed, as far as measured by the number of traits.

All of that is part of the dynamic, but in the end, food companies are handed the least flexible situation, and will have the bulk of the challenge in how to overcome shrinking margins.

Kraft (NYSE:KFT) to Raise Prices as Margins Squeezed

All things considered, Kraft Foods (NYSE:KFT) performed well in the last quarter, managing to meet expectations in a challenging scenario.

The company was able to generate earnings of $540 million, or 31 cents a share. While down 24 percent from last year in the same quarter, that was largely from the costs related to integrating Cadbury.

Minus costs, Kraft earned 46 cents a share, a penny off the 47 cents a share generated last year. That was the exact number analysts had been looking for.

Revenue jumped to $13.77 billion, a gain of 30 percent. Analysts had expected revenue to come in at $13.48 billion.

While Kraft cut boosted prices in the fourth quarter, they won't be enough to sustain profitability, said the food company, and they said more price hikes will be added throughout 2011.

All of that comes from commodity prices rising for corn, wheat, cocoa and sugar, among others.

Consequently, Kraft had to lower its EPS estimate for the year to 11 percent to 13 percent. In November they had estimated growth would be in the mid-teens.

Increases in prices won't help the company in the short-term, as it'll be several months before they start making a difference, so the latter part of 2011 will have margins return to wider levels.

Competitors Kellog Company (NYSE:K) and Sara Lee (NYSE:SLE) also recently announced they're going to be raising prices as well.

Sara Lee (NYSE:SLE) May Break Up if Better Offer Doesn't Come

With the intense interest in Sara Lee (NYSE:SLE) as a takeover candidate, the company has the luxury of being in a strong position, based on tax advantages associated with breaking up into two companies. That allows them to seek a much higher offer, although it also limits them on what suitors would be willing to pay to acquire them.

Canaccord says, "Cash-rich private equity firms are lining up to buy Sara Lee. According to various media reports, the coffee and meat company has received a takeover offer from a group of investors that includes Apollo Global Management, Bain Capital and TPG Capital. This follows previous offers from Brazilian meat processor JBS and buyout firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), which were rejected by Sara Lee’s Board. The Apollo group has apparently offered as much as $20 a share for Sara Lee, or $13 billion, and with analysts estimating the company’s worth at $12.5 billion, this seems to be an attractive bid. U.S.-based Sara Lee has been examining various options such as selling itself or splitting itself up into meat and beverage units for the past few months. The company seems to be leaning toward a break-up, unless it receives a takeover offer high enough to compensate for the tax-free advantages of a split into two companies. It is expected that JBS will submit a revised offer, but media reports say this has yet to arrive. Is a bidding war on the horizon? If successful, the Apollo purchase would be among the largest leveraged buyouts since the credit crisis."

Sara Lee was trading at $18.61, up $0.25, or 1.36 percent, as of 1:54 PM EST.

JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) Says Sara Lee (NYSE:SLE) Sale Would Garner 20% Premium

Talking the difference between selling Sara Lee (NYSE:SLE) in pieces or as a whole, JPmorgan analyst Terry Bivens says the company would probably command a premium of about 20 percent if sold as a whole, in a price range of $22 to $23 a share.

Bivens said, "Given the strong brand portfolio and stable cash flow generation, we think a potential buyer may be willing to accept a lower rate of return."

Sara Lee has suggested they're looking for a sale price of around $20 a share.

Reuters has reported that Brazil's JBS SA is looking to work with private equity firms to partner and raise capital to make an offer on the company.

JBS has already been rebuffed by Sara Lee for an offer of $17.50 a share, citing it as too low.

Sara Lee was trading at $18.27, up $0.26, or 1.47 percent, as of 12:51 PM EST.

Sara Lee (NYSE:SLE), JBS Deal Can Get Done Says Wells (NYSE:WFC)

With the market capitalization of Sara Lee (NYSE:SLE) and JBS almost the same, under normal market conditions an acquisition would be difficult to move forward.

But with the potential support from the Brazilian government, which could help finance the deal, it is still a definite possibility the deal can get done.

Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) noted, "While JBS has roughly the same market capitalization as SLE, JBS could potentially receive support in financing a transaction from the Brazilian government, a top shareholder of JBS. While the Journal and other media outlets have reported that SLE rebuffed a potential offer from KKR earlier this year, we believe that private equity is less likely to be a buyer than JBS owing to the substantial equity investment and debt financing needed for an LBO."

Wells Fargo maintains a "Market Perform" rating on Sara Lee, which closed Monday at 17.69, up $0.43, or 2.49 percent.

Sara Lee's (NYSE:SLE) Interest Growing in JBS (OTC:JBSAY.PK) Sale

Brazil's JBS SA (OTC:JBSAY.PK) has indicated interest in acquiring Sara Lee Corp.(NYSE:SLE) for several months, but recently Sara Lee has reportedly taken a much more serious look at the offer.

People close to the situation said there has been no final decision made yet, and there are also other options on the table.

One immediate problem in general as far as the takeover itself is whether or not JBS would be able to put together a full offer for Sara Lee, as they're close in size to the company as measured by market capitalization. At close Friday Sara Lee has a market cap of just over $11 billion. JBS was at $10.53 billion a close, and the difference was only because of the story being told here which pushed up the price of Sara Lee on Friday.

Besides allowing itself to be acquired, other options being considered would be to put their beverage and core meats businesses up for sale.

With Jimmy Dean and Hillshire Farm being part of the picture, there is certainty competitors would be attracted to the proposition if they went that route.

Sara Lee is in limbo until they make these decisions, as far as replacing retired CEO Brenda Barnes, who stepped down after suffering a stroke.

JBS closed Friday at $8.35, up $0.14, or 1.71 percent. Sara Lee closed at $17.26, gaining $0.87, or 5.31 percent.

Goldman (NYSE:GS) Shrinks Estimates on Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO), Philip Morris (NYSE:PM), Sara Lee (NYSE:SLE) and Coca-Cola Enterprises (NYSE:CCE) on Forex

Citing the strengthening of the U.S. dollar in the midst of the sovereign debt crisis in Europe, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) has lowered their estimates on a number of food, beverage and tobacco stocks, with Goldman saying Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO), Philip Morris International, Inc. (NYSE:PM), Sara Lee Corp. (NYSE:SLE) and Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. (NYSE:CCE) expected to have the most negative impact on them.

For the broader food, beverage, & tobacco sector, Goldman lowered the estimates by a range of 1 to 2 percent. For the companies named above, they're estimates were lowered by a range of 2 to 3 percent.

Below are the changed EPS estimates of Goldman for the companies in the sector:

Coca-Cola: reiterated FY10 EPS at $3.50, full year 2011 lowered from $3.90 to $3.83.

Coca-Cola Enterprises: kept full year 2010 EPS at $3.50, full year 2011 lowered from $2.04 to $1.99.

Kellogg Company (NYSE:K): maintained full year 2010 EPS at $3.29, full year 2011 lowered from $3.50 to $3.48

Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB): cut full year 2011 EPS estimates from $2.50 to $2.48 and full year 2012 from $2.68 to $2.65.

Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE:KFT): maintained full year 2010 EPS at $3.29, full year 2011 dropped from $2.28 to $2.25.

PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE:PEP): maintained full year 2010 EPS at $4.12, full year 2011 lowered from $4.65 to $4.63.

Philip Morris International Inc.: full year 2010 lowered from $3.89 to $3.85, full year 2011 lowered from $4.62 to $4.45.

Sara Lee Corp.: full year 2011 EPS lowered form $0.86 to $0.84, full year 2012 lowered from $0.95 to $0.91.

Fortune Brands (NYSE:FO): reiterated full year 2010 EPS at $2.77, full year 2011 lowered from $3.68 to $3.66

Coca-Cola was trading at $64.64, gaining $1.47, or 2.32 percent at 1:16 PM EST. Coca-Cola Enterprises was at $24.65, increasing by $0.50, or 2.07 percent. Philip Morris International, Inc. was at $57.62, rising by $0.73, or 1.28 percent, Sara Lee Corp. was up to $15.29, increasing $0.29, or 1.93 percent. Kellog rose to $49.42, gaining $0.19, or 0.39 percent. Campbell Soup increased to $34.15, rising by $0.25, or 0.74 percent. Kraft pushed to $30.65, rising $0.40, or 1.32 percent. Pepsico pressed to $65.36, gaining $1.21, or 1.89 percent. Fortune Brands rose to $60.54, increasing by $1.45, or 2.45 percent.

Interesting that all the stocks mentioned by Goldman were up today in spite of the Forex concerns.