Cathay (CATY) (ZION) (AWI) (TCB) (BMS) (BOKF) Upgraded

Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ: CATY), Zions Bancorporation (NASDAQ: ZION), Armstrong World Industries (NYSE: AWI), TCF Financial Co. (NYSE: TCB), Bemis (NYSE: BMS) and BOK Financial Co. (NASDAQ: BOKF) upgraded by analysts.

Zions Bancorporation (ZION) was upgraded by RBC Capital from a “Sector Perform” rating to an “Outperform” rating. They have a price target of $20.00 on the company, down from $25.00.

Armstrong World Industries (AWI) was upgraded by BB&T (NYSE:BBT) from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating.

TCF Financial Co. (TCB) was upgraded by FBR Capital from an “Underperform” rating to a “Market Perform” rating. They have a price target of $11.00 on the company, down from $12.00.

Bemis (BMS) was upgraded by Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) from an “Underperform” rating to a “Buy” rating.

BOK Financial Co. (BOKF) was upgraded by Stifel Nicolaus from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $56.00 on the company.

Cathay General Bancorp (CATY) was upgraded by RBC Capital from a “Sector Perform” rating to an “Outperform” rating. They have a price target of $15.00 on the company, down from $18.00.

Whirlpool (WHR) (MS) (TCB) (PENN) (SVN) (PEP) Price Targets Changed

Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE: WHR), Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), TCF Financial Co. (NYSE: TCB), Penn National Gaming (NASDAQ: PENN), 7 Days Group Holdings Ltd (NYSE: SVN) and PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE: PEP) price targets adjusted by analysts.

Whirlpool Corporation (WHR) had its price target lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) to $82.00.

TCF Financial Co. (TCB) had its price target lowered by RBC Capital from $18.00 to $16.00. They have an “Outperform” rating on the company.

7 Days Group Holdings Ltd (SVN) had its price target raised by Wedbush to $119.00.

PepsiCo, Inc. (PEP) had its price target lowered by UBS AG (NYSE: UBS) from $82.00 to $79.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

Penn National Gaming (PENN) had its price target raised by Jefferies (NYSE: JEF) to $51.00. They have a “buy” rating on the company.

Morgan Stanley (MS) had its price target raised by UBS AG from $25.00 to $33.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

Price Targets on (REGN) (SD) (TCB) (TESO) (VQ) Updated

Analysts updated their price targets on Regeneron Pharma (NASDAQ: REGN), SandRidge Energy Inc. (NYSE: SD), TCF Financial Co. (NYSE: TCB), Tesco Co. (NASDAQ: TESO) and Venoco, Inc. (NYSE: VQ) today.

Needham & Company raised their price target on Regeneron Pharms (REGN) from $49.00 to $60.00. They have a “buy” rating on the company.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) raised their price target on SandRidge Energy Inc. (NYSE: SD) from $10.00 to $11.00.

Compass Point raised their price target on TCF Financial Co. (TCB) from $14.00 to $16.00. They have a “neutral” rating on the company.

FBR Capital raised their price target on Tesco Co. (TESO) from $22.00 to $25.00. They have an “outperform” rating on the company.

Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) cut their price target on Venoco, Inc. (VQ) from $18.50 to $16.00.

TCF Financial (NYSE:TCB) Main Catalyst Debit Card Interchange, Durbin Questionable

As time goes on it appears the overzealousness of regulators in regard to debit cards is catching up with them, as Durbin is gathering more opposition daily, which is good news for TCF Financial (NYSE:TCB), which, according to Barclays, has as their chief catalyst, debit card interchange.

Barclays says, "Bottom-line, while 4Q10 results disappointed, we believe the larger performance driver near-term will remain developments with respect to debit card interchange. In our view, the tide appears to be shifting with respect to the Durbin amendment as other banks are joining TCB's Constitutional challenge, Barney Frank appears more willing to revisit the issue, several banks are pushing for a study that could delay implementation, and still others have the potential for product/pricing changes to substantially reduce its impact.

"Following its large 4Q10 core EPS miss and reflecting our increased provisioning expectations and reduced net interest margin outlook, we are reducing our 2011 EPS estimate to $0.95 from $1.10. As its stands, we estimate Durbin would reduce its annual earnings by $0.40 beginning in 2H11."

Barclays reiterates an 'Overweight' on TCF Financial (TCB), which closed Friday at $15.46, gaining $0.21, or 1.38 percent. Barclays has a price target of $22 on TCF.

BofA (NYSE:BAC), Citi (NYSE:C), Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC), JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) Among Barclays (NYSE:BCS) Top Bank Picks

Top picks in a number of sectors have been unsurprisingly pouring out from everywhere, and one Barclays (NYSE:BCS) released their list of top picks in the banking industry, led by BofA (NYSE:BAC), Citi (NYSE:C), Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) and JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM).

Barclays noted their picks were based mostly on those banks that are expected redeploy capital in the first part of 2011.

Also chosen as top pick banks were State Street (NYSE:STT), PNC Financial (NYSE:PNC), US Bancorp (NYSE:USB), TCF Financial (NYSE:TCB), Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE:BK), First Interstate Bancsystem (Nasdaq:FIBK) and City National (NYSE:CYN).


Bank ratings and price targets:


BofA - Equalweight with $19 price target - closed at $14.19

Citi - Overweight with $6 target - closed at $4.90

Wells Fargo - Overweight with $36 target - closed at $31.58

JPMorgan - Overweight with $60 target - closed at $43.58

State Street - Overweight with $57 target - closed at $47.62

PNC Financial - Equalweight with $75 target - closed at $61.46

US Bancorp - Overweight with $31 target - closed at $26.94

TCF Financial - Overweight with $22 target - closed at $14.84

Bank of NY Mellon - Overweight with $38 target - closed at $30.81

First Interstate Bancsystem - Overweight with $19 target

City National (NYSE: CYN) - Overweight with $65 target - closed at $15.57