Lowes (LOW) (SNV) (WLK) (JKHY) (NM) Declare Dividends

The Board of Directors of Lowes (NYSE:LOW) declared a quarterly common stock dividend of $0.14 per share payable 11/2/11 to shareholders of record at the close of business on 10/19/11.

The Board of Directors of Synovus Financial (NYSE:SNV) declared a quarterly common stock dividend of $0.01 per share payable 10/3/11 to shareholders of record at the close of business on 9/15/11.

The Board of Directors of Westlake Chemical Corp (NYSE:WLK) declared a quarterly common stock dividend of $0.07375 per share payable 9/13/11 to shareholders of record at the close of business on 9/2/11.

The Board of Directors of Jack Henry & Associates Inc. (NASDAQ:JKHY) declared a quarterly common stock dividend of $0.105 per share payable 9/28/11 to shareholders of record at the close of business on 9/8/11.

The Board of Directors of Navios Maritime Holdings Inc. (NYSE:NM) declared a second quarter common stock dividend of $0.06 per share payable 10/6/11 to shareholders of record at the close of business on 9/22/11.

First Solar (FSLR) (VMW) (WLK) (BEXP) (MOS) (CHKP) Upgraded

First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR), VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW), Westlake Chemical Corp (NYSE: WLK), Brigham Exploration (NASDAQ: BEXP), The Mosaic Company (NYSE: MOS) and Check Point Software (NASDAQ: CHKP) upgraded by analysts.

First Solar, Inc. (FSLR) was upgraded by Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $132.00 on the company.

VMware, Inc. (VMW) was upgraded by FBR Capital from a “Market Perform” rating to an “Outperform” rating.

Westlake Chemical Corp. (WLK) was upgraded by UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) from a “Sell” rating to a “Neutral” rating. They have a price target of $41.00 on the company, down from $50.00. They cited valuation as the catalyst behind the call.

Brigham Exploration (BEXP) was upgraded by FBR Capital from a “Market Perform” rating to an “Outperform” rating. They have a price target of $40.00 on the company.

The Mosaic Company (MOS) was upgraded by Ticonderoga from a “Neutral” rating to a “Buy” rating. They have a price target of $80.00 on the company.

Check Point Software (CHKP) was upgraded by Macquarie from a “Neutral” rating to an “Outperform” rating. They have a price target of $59.00 on the company.

Berkshire (BRK-B) (WLK) (ATK) (NKTR) (VIA) (CF) Price Targets Changed

Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-B), Westlake Chemical Corp (NYSE: WLK), Alliant Techsystems Inc. (NYSE: ATK), Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ: NKTR), Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA) and CF Industries Holdings Inc (NYSE: CF) price targets adjusted by analysts.

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) had its price target lowered by Barclays Capital from $92.00 to $85.00. They have an “Equal Weight” rating on the company.

Westlake Chemical Corporation (WLK) had its price target lowered by Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) from $52.00 to $48.00. They have a “Hold” rating on the company.

Alliant Techsystems Inc. (ATK) had its price target lowered by Barclays Capital from $84.00 to $74.00. They have an “Equal Weight” rating on the company.

Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) had its price target lowered by Deutsche Bank from $14.00 to $11.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

Viacom Inc. (VIA) had its price target raised by Barclays Capital from $55.00 to $57.00. They have an “Overweight” rating on the company.

CF Industries Holdings Inc. (CF) had its price target raised by Barclays Capital from $158.00 to $170.00. They have an “Equal Weight” rating on the company.

Ratings on (NTAP) (VTR) (ENS) (WLK) Upgraded

Ratings on NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP), Ventas (NYSE: VTR), EnerSys (NYSE: ENS) and Westlake Chemical Corp (NYSE: WLK) were upgraded by analysts.

Canaccord Genuity upgraded NetApp Inc. (NTAP) from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating.

HSBC (NYSE:HBC) upgraded Ventas (VTR) from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating. They have a price target of $50.00 on the company, up from $48.00.

Noble Financial upgraded EnerSys (ENS) from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) upgraded Westlake Chemical Corp (WLK) from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating.

Biggest Winners (WAT) (GDOT) (WLK) (OXGN) (PRX) on May 6

Among the winners on Friday, May 6, as measured by share price increases, were Waters Corp. (WAT), Green Dot Corp. (GDOT), Westlake Chemical (WLK), Oxigene Inc (OXGN) and Pharmaceutical Companies (PRX).

Waters Corp. (WAT) was up $1.22, to close at $96.87, a gain of 1.28 percent.

Green Dot Corp. (GDOT) jumped $1.22 on the day to close at $39.19, an increase of 3.21 percent.

Westlake Chemical (WLK) rose $1.21 to close at $59.65, a boost of 2.07 percent.

Oxigene Inc (OXGN) soared $1.21 to close the session at $3.56, a gain of 51.49 percent.

Pharmaceutical Companies (PRX) surged $1.20 to end the day at $34.41, climbing 1.20 percent.