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.

Halliburton (HAL) (DD) (AEIS) (AEP) (SBUX) Price Targets Changed by Analysts

Halliburton (NYSE: HAL), DuPont (NYSE: DD), Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ: AEIS), American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) and Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) had their price targets changed by analysts.

Argus raised their price target on Halliburton (HAL) from $56.00 to $63.00. They have a “buy” rating on the company.

Ticonderoga raised their price target on DuPont (DD) from $70.00 to $75.00. They have a “buy” rating on the company.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) cut their price target on Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. (AEIS) to $16.00.

UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) raised their price target on American Electric Power (AEP) to $39.00. They have a “neutral” rating on the company.

Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS) raised their price target on Starbucks (SBUX) to $46.00.

Starbucks closed Wednesday at $40.42, down $0.53, or 1.29 percent. American Electric Power closed at $38.50, falling $0.01, or 0.03 percent. Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. ended the day at $13.16, dropping $0.11, or 0.79 percent. DuPont closed at $55.20, jumping $0.75, or 1.38 percent. Halliburton ended at $52.66, climbing $0.51, or 0.98 percent.

Ratings on (ACM) (AEP) (ALLT) (BNPQY) (CHA) Upgraded

Ratings on shares of AECOM Technology Co. (NYSE: ACM), American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), Allot Communications Ltd. (NASDAQ: ALLT), BNP Paribas SA (OTC: BNPQY) and China Telecom (NYSE: CHA) were upgraded by analysts.

Argus analysts upgraded AECOM Technology Co. (ACM) from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating. They have a price target of $33.00 on the company.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) upgraded American Electric Power (AEP) from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating. They have a price target of $41.00 on the company.

ThinkEquity upgraded Allot Communications Ltd. (ALLT) from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating. They have a price target of $17.00 on the company.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) upgraded BNP Paribas SA (BNPQY) from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating.

Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS) upgraded China Telecom (CHA) from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating.

Dividends from (FE) (AEP) (DUK) (PGN) (XLU)

A quick look at dividends from FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE: FE), American Electric Power Co., Inc. (NYSE: AEP), Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE: DUK), Progress Energy, Inc. (NYSE: PGN); all American utility companies.

Dividends continue to attact investors in an ongoing volatile and unpredictable market. Among companies offering dividends, utility companies have been among the sectors offering significant and predictable dividends over the years, no matter what type of business cycle that is occurring at the time.

The "boring" utility sector has actually been plodding along nicely, as many have been quietly hitting 52-week highs. That of course makes them a little more expensive to get into, but a small price to pay for income and peace of mind for certain types of investors.

American Electric Power Co., Inc. (AEP) offers a dividend of 5 percent at this time. For those thinking of getting into it for that purpose, keep in mind it may not rasie their dividend any time soon, as it recently raised its dividend after having it sit there from November 2007 to February 2010. Expectations are the next dividend boost will bring it to $0.47 or $0.48 a quarter, up from the current $0.46 a quarter.

Duke Energy Corporation (DUK) hasn't attracted investors much since it spun of Spectra, but they pay out about a 5.2 percent yield. They are in the midst of merging with Progress Energy, Inc. (PGN), which itself carries a yield of almost 5.2 percent. The current payout of $0.245 is expected to be bossted sometime soon, although that's not a certainty.

FirstEnergy Corporation (FE) pays out about 5.3 percent in dividend yields, even as it hit a 52-week high of $41.77 recently. It's unlikely FirstEnergy will add to its dividend in a big way soon, but as it is it offers a decent return for those looking for income and safety. What's attractive about FE is it's far below its pre-recession share price high, which makes it a potential growth story as well.

For those seeking less exposure to individual stocks while looking for dividend income, the Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) ETF could be up your alley. It has also recently hit a 52-week high, and offers an approximate return of 4.0 percent.

Dividend Yields for (TEG) (PPL) (AEP) (EXC) (SO)

Indicated dividend yields for Standard & Poor's 500 Index companies Integrys Energy Group Inc (TEG), PPL Corp (PPL), American Electric Power Co Inc (AEP), Exelon Corp (EXC) and Southern Co (SO).

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.

Integrys Energy Group Inc (TEG) has a dividend yield of 5.20 percent on a declared dividend of $0.68. The payout ratio is 70.8 percent.

PPL Corp (PPL) has a dividend yield of 5.12 percent on a declared dividend of $0.35. The payout ratio is 50.6 percent.

American Electric Power Co Inc (AEP) has a dividend yield of 5.04 percent on a declared dividend of $0.46. The payout ratio is 125.4 percent.

Exelon Corp (EXC) has a dividend yield of 4.99 percent on a declared dividend of $0.53. The payout ratio is 52.2 percent.

Southern Co (SO) has a dividend yield of 4.84 percent on a declared dividend of $0.47. The payout ratio is 94.6 percent.