Kaman (KAMN) (FIATY) (ITRI) (GWW) (ICFI) (IGN) Downgraded

Kaman Corp. (NASDAQ: KAMN), Fiat S.p.A. (NASDAQ: FIATY), Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI), W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE: GWW), ICF International, Inc. (NASDAQ: ICFI) and Goldman Sachs Network (NYSE: IGN) downgraded by analysts.

Kaman Corp. (KAMN) was downgraded by Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) from a “Buy” rating to a “Hold” rating. They have a price target of $36.00 on the company.

Fiat S.p.A. (FIATY) was downgraded by Citigroup (NYSE:C) from a “Buy” rating to a “Hold” rating.

Itron, Inc. (ITRI) was downgraded by Cantor Fitzgerald from a “Buy” rating to a “Hold” rating.

W.W. Grainger, Inc. (GWW) was downgraded by Oppenheimer from an “Outperform” rating to a “Perform” rating. They have a price target of $171.00 on the company.

ICF International, Inc. (ICFI) was downgraded by Stifel Nicolaus from a “Buy” rating to a “Hold” rating.

Goldman Sachs Network (IGN) was downgraded by Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) to a “Hold” rating. They have a price target of $135.00 on the company.

Ratings on (VTR) (EPM) (EXPE) (GWW) (MUR) Upgraded

Ratings on Ventas (NYSE: VTR), Evolution Petroleum Co. (NYSE: EPM), Expedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE), W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE: GWW) and Murphy Oil Corp (NYSE: MUR) were upgraded by analysts.

Robert W. Baird upgraded Ventas (VTR) from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating. They have a price target of $50.00 on the company, up from $48.00.

Global Hunter Securities upgraded Evolution Petroleum Co. (EPM) to a “buy” rating. They have a price target of $12.50 on the company.

Lazard Capital upgraded Expedia, Inc. (EXPE) from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating. They have a price target of $30.00 on the company.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) upgraded W.W. Grainger, Inc. (GWW) from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating.

Raymond James upgraded Murphy Oil Corp (MUR) from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating.

Dividend Yields for (BA) (SNA) (TYC) (GWW) (ITT)

Indicated dividend yields for Standard & Poor's 500 Index companies Boeing Co (BA), Snap-On Inc (SNA), Tyco International Ltd (TYC), WW Grainger Inc (GWW) and ITT Corp (ITT).

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.

Boeing Co (BA) has a dividend yield of 2.11 percent on a declared dividend of $0.42. The payout ratio is 53.1 percent.

Snap-On Inc (SNA) has a dividend yield of 2.07 percent on a declared dividend of $0.32. The payout ratio is 33.6 percent.

Tyco International Ltd (TYC) has a dividend yield of 2.05 percent on a declared dividend of $0.25. The payout ratio is 37.0 percent.

WW Grainger Inc (GWW) has a dividend yield of 1.74 percent on a declared dividend of $0.66. The payout ratio is 36.7 percent.

ITT Corp (ITT) has a dividend yield of 1.73 percent on a declared dividend of $0.25. The payout ratio is 36.7 percent.

Upgrades for (DISCA) DOW) (EXXI) (FRME) (GWW) Ratings

Analysts upgraded Discovery (NASDAQ: DISCA), The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW), Energy XXI (NASDAQ: EXXI), First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ: FRME) and W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE: GWW) today.

Barrington Research upgraded Discovery (DISCA) to an “outperform” rating.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) upgraded The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW) from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating.

Global Hunter Securities upgraded Energy XXI (EXXI) from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating. They have a price target of $44.00 on the company, up previously from $36.00.

Stifel Nicolaus upgraded First Merchants Co. (FRME) from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating. They have a price target of $11.00 on the company.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) upgraded W.W. Grainger, Inc. (GWW) from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating. They now have a price target of $138.00 on the company, down from $170.00.

Can WW Grainger (NYSE:GWW) Sales Reacceleration Continue?

Sales for WW Grainger (NYSE:GWW) have been gradually improving, but the question, according to FBRi is whether or not the sales reacceleration can continue.

FBR says, "Consistent with our distributor survey published in early January, industrial distributor Grainger’s US sales reaccelerated in December with US daily sales up 14%, versus 10% in November and 8% in October. Operating EPS was solid at $1.83, versus FBR $1.71 and consensus $1.68 reflecting impressive operating leverage to higher volume.

"While it is still early in the year and we recognize the company does not have meaningful forward visibility given short-cycle mix, we think not increasing 2011 guidance could temper some of the 4Q blowout results driven enthusiasm. We note shares have rallied in the past two weeks and valuation is expensive.

FBR Capital reiterates a "Market Perform" on WW Grainger (GWW), which closed Tuesday at $132.56, losing $6.60, or 4.74 percent.

WW Grainger (NYSE:GWW) EPS Estimates Raised by UBS (NYSE:UBS)

UBS (NYSE:UBS) said they're EPS estimates on WW Grainger (NYSE:GWW), based on "macro tailwinds."

UBS said, "To reflect incremental comfort around macro tailwinds, which are underpinned by Federal tax relief, strong corporate B/S’s, greater confidence among US corporates in a US recovery, and ISM momentum, we’re upping our 2010, 2011 and 2012 EPS to $6.66, $7.70 and $8.60 from $6.63, $7.55 and $8.54, respectively."

UBS maintains a "Neutral" rating on WW Grainger, which closed Tuesday at $139.23, down $0.31, or 0.22 percent. UBS raised their price target on them from $135 to $140.