Potash (POT) (YGE) (WBS) (DCOM) (ECL) (FCF) Upgraded

Potash Corp (NYSE: POT), Yingli Green Energy Hold. Co. Ltd. (NYSE: YGE), Webster Financial Corp (NYSE: WBS), Dime Community Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ: DCOM), Ecolab Inc. (NYSE: ECL) and First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE: FCF) upgraded by analysts.

Webster Financial Corp. (WBS) was upgraded by Stifel Nicolaus from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target $21.00 on the company.

Potash Corp. (POT) was upgraded by Scotia Capital from a “Sector Perform” rating to an “Outperform” rating.

Yingli Green Energy Hold. Co. Ltd. (YGE) was upgraded by HSBC (NYSE:HBC) from an “Underweight” rating to a “Neutral” rating.

Dime Community Bancshares Inc. (DCOM) was upgraded by Stifel Nicolaus from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $15.00 on the company.

Ecolab Inc. (ECL) was upgraded by Citigroup (NYSE:C) from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating.

First Commonwealth Financial (FCF) was upgraded by Stifel Nicolaus from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $5.25 on the company.

Wynn (WYNN) (WTR) (ACAS) (CEVA) (WBS) (AIG) Upgraded

Wynn Resorts, Limited (NASDAQ: WYNN), Aqua America (NYSE: WTR), American Capital (NASDAQ: ACAS), Ceva Inc (NASDAQ: CEVA), Webster Financial Corp (NYSE: WBS) and American International Group, Inc. (NYSE: AIG) upgraded by analysts.

Aqua America (WTR) was upgraded by Janney Montgomery Scott from a “Neutral” rating to a “Buy” rating.

Wynn Resorts, Limited (WYNN) was upgraded by Citigroup (NYSE:C) from a “Sell” rating to a “Hold” rating. They have a price target of $133.00 on the company.

American Capital (ACAS) was upgraded by FBR Capital from a “Market Perform” rating to an “Outperform” rating. They have a price target of $12.00 on the company, up from $11.00.

Ceva Inc. (CEVA) was upgraded by Wunderlich from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $32.00 on the company.

Webster Financial Corp. (WBS) was upgraded by analysts at FBR Capital from a “Market Perform” rating to an “Outperform” rating. They have a price target of $24.00 on the company.

American International Group, Inc. (AIG) was upgraded by KBW from an “Underperform” rating to a “Market Perform” rating. They have a price target of $24.00 on the company. They cited valuation as the catalyst behind the call.

Webster Financial's (NYSE:WBS) EPS Boosted on Strong Position

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) EPS had their full year 2011 through 2012 EPS estimates raised by Jefferies (NYSE:JEF), citing their being in a strong position to "bleed reserves."

Jefferies noted, "We expect net interest margin to compress going forward, but from a higher base following a surprising 4bp of expansion in 4Q due to deposit repricing, loan originations and a steeper yield curve."

They boosted their full year 2011 through 2012 EPS estimates on Webster Financial from $1.15 and 1.35 to $1.30 and $1.40, and initiated a full year 2013 estimate of $1.80 on the company.

Jefferies maintains a "Buy" rating on Webster Financial (WBS), which closed Tuesday at $22.65, gaining $1.25, or 5.84 percent. Jefferies raised their price target on Webster from $23 to $25.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) Appear Ready to Return to Normal

After a couple of years of building up their loan loss reserves, FBR said they believe Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) is poised to return to normal earnings.

FBR says, "We raise our 2011 operating EPS estimate to $1.30 (from $1.05) and our 2012 operating EPS estimate to $1.50 (from $1.30), with lower provision expense the primary change in our estimates. Our estimate of $1.50–$1.75 of normalized EPS is unchanged. Over the past couple years, Webster was proactive in building a large loan loss reserve, which negatively impacted profitability, but today those reserves appear ample relative to Webster's loan book, and should enable its earnings to return to "normal" even as it works through residual credit problems. Shares trade at some premium to peers, which we consider merited by its strengthened capital and growing earnings outlook, but valuation keeps us at a Market Perform."

FBR Capital maintains a "Market Perform" rating on Webster Financial, which was trading at $22.59, gaining $1.19, or 5.56 percent, as of 12:02 PM EST.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) Raising Capital to Pay TARP

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) shares are moving up on the announcement they're going to raise common equity to pay back what they owe to TARP.

FBR said, "We reiterate our rating and price target for Webster Financial following its announcement that it will raise common equity in order to repay TARP. We note that the capital raise and TARP repayment is accretive to tangible book, and modestly accretive to EPS in the near term (and neutral to longer-term earnings). Further, the successful exit should remove an overhang from the shares and boost common equity capital ratios (6.95% pro forma TCE). We adjust our 2011 operating EPS estimate to $1.05 (from $1.00) and reiterate our 2012 of $1.30. Our estimate of $1.50 to $1.75 of normalized EPS is unchanged."

FBR Capital maintains a "Market Perform" rating on Webster Financial, which closed Tuesday at $18.62, up $0.13, or 0.70 percent. FBR has a price target of $19 on them.