The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down more than 74 points to 12,079.29 (-0.61%), the NASDAQ fell more than 21 points (-0.80%) to 2,657.22, and the S&P 500 fell -0.94% or nearly 12 points to 1,251.88.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) cut to ‘hold’ at Argus. Other changes included Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) reiterated ‘neutral’ with a $59 price target at Credit Suisse; Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE: NLY) started as ‘overweight’ at JPMorgan; Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) named ‘Bull of the Day’ at Zack’s; and Hershey Co. (NYSE: HSY) cut to ‘hold’ at Argus.

Here are today’s big post-earnings news reactions with prices during the last half-hour of trading: Cyanotech Corp. (NASDAQ: CYAN) is up more than 9% at $5.50; Global Ship Lease Inc. (NYSE: GSL) is down almost -17% at $1.75; Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. (NYSE: IVN) is up more than 2% at $21.03; J.C. Penney Co. (NYSE: JCP) is down almost -3% at $32.93; Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW) is up more than 1.5%, at $23.49; and ZBB Energy Corp. (AMEX: ZBB) is down about -7.5%, at $0.71.

Several other standouts from today are as follows…

Daquo New Energy Corp. (NYSE: DQ) is down about -3%, at $2.73. The company makes wafers for solar PV cells and badly missed expected earnings. Net margins have fallen from 36.3% in the same period a year ago to 20.3%.

Bluegreen Corp. (NYSE: BXG) is up more than 44%, at $2.94. The resort time-share company has agreed to be acquired by BFC Financial Corp. (OTC: BFCF) for shares of BFC valued at $4.56.

Verifone Systems Inc. (NYSE: PAY) is up nearly 8%, at $44.03. Verifone has agreed to acquire a Norwegian company that is the largest provider of payment and gateway services in northern Europe. The price totals about $815 million, including debt.

China Shen Zhou Mining & Resources, Inc. (NYSE: SHZ) is up more than 18%, at $2.57. The company, which is China’s leading producer of fluorite, reported that it had nearly doubled revenues in the third quarter compared to the same period a year ago.

Cadence Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: CADX) is down nearly -22%, at $3.97, after posting a new 52-week low of $3.95 earlier today. The company announced a $75 million secondary stock offering this morning.

JinkoSolar Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE: JKS) is down more than -13%, at $6.75. The solar panel maker significantly reduced shipment and revenue forecasts for the third quarter.

Stay tuned for Tuesday. St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank president James Bullard and Chicago Fed president Charles Evans are giving speeches in the morning. Three other Fed presidents are also speaking tomorrow. Here’s a list of other noteworthy events (all times Eastern):

• 7:45 a.m. – ICSC-Goldman Sachs store sales report
• 8:30 a.m. – Producer price index released
• 8:30 a.m. – October retail sales
• 8:30 a.m. – Empire State manufacturing survey
• 10:00 a.m. – Business inventories

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Paul Ausick

Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) Cut to Market Perform at Leerink Swann.
Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMLN) Raised to Outperform at Baird.
Annaly Capital Management, Inc. (NYSE: NLY) Started as Overweight at JPMorgan.
Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE: BAM) Cut estimates at Credit Suisse.
The Greenbrier Companies (NYSE: GBX) named Value stock of the day at Zacks.
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) Cut to Hold at Argus.
Hershey Co. (NYSE: HSY) Cut to Hold at Argus.
Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) Reiterated Neutral with $59 target at Credit Suisse.
Macy’s, Inc. (NYSE: M) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Spirit AeroSystems Holdings (NYSE: SPR) Added to US 1 List at BofA/ML.
Teekay Corporation (NYSE: TK) Cut estimates at Credit Suisse.
Tower Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: TWGP) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.

Also read the top analyst calls of the last week.

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This week brought some new changes to the list and many updates on the old list.  Some of the companies covered on the list are Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF), American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE: AWK), Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG), GameStop Corporation (NYSE: GME), The Hersey Company (NYSE: HSY), Imperial Sugar Co. (NASDAQ: IPSU), Medifast, Inc. (NYSE: MED), Riverbed Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: RVBD), SEI Investments Co. (NASDAQ: SEIC), and U.S. Auto Parts Network, Inc. (NASDAQ: PRTS).

We have covered these and added in targets and upside from Janney, as well as a blurb on each.  After that, we have added in some independent color if applicable.

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) was interesting to see after it has already enjoyed such a large run that has more than doubled.  It was not a repeat on the list.  Its adjusted price on the list was $66.92, but shares on Friday are up at $72.87.  Janney sees a fair value at $85.00, implying about 16% upside.  Thomson Reuters shows a consensus price target objective of $83.11 and supposedly there is a high target of $100 out there.  Janney’s thesis is supported by more international growth and it noted, “we will look to short-term weakness as opportunities for the long-term.”

American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE: AWK) was noted with a price of $29.45 and its price on Friday was $29.95.  Janney’s target is $32.00.  The firm noted, “American Water remains among our top ideas, not only in the water utility space, but in the water sector generally.”  It also looks for earnings growth and additional dividend growth.  As this was our top water pick at 24/7 Wall St., our only comment is that we see this one making it to $35 perhaps by the end of 2012. This is also a stock to hold for the next decade.

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS) was new on the list, which may be from the implied buyout interest. Janney’s quarter-end updated price was $16.58, but the stock was around $17.75 on Friday.  Janney’s fair value target is $24.00, implying about 35% upside remaining.  Janney is the street-high at $24.00, and investors may want to know that the Thomson Reuters consensus is from a small group of analysts but that appears to only be $19.50.  Janney noted, “Borders’ Bankruptcy Provides Near Term Support” and sees opportunity in the nooks and e-books.

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG) is a repeat on the Best Ideas list but Janney still sees big upside despite this hitting new all-time highs.  The quarter-end adjusted price was $308.19 and shares were almost $325.00 on Friday.  Janney’s fair value target is $375.00 and Janney appears to be the street-high target.  Thomson Reuters has a consensus target under the current price at closer to $286.00.  As a reminder, this one is up almost $200.00 from its 52-week low.  Janney noted several issues here that few may know about, one is its Asian concept called ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen.  Its market share within the limited-service Mexican segment was said to be 14.1% at the end of 2010.

GameStop Corporation (NYSE: GME) is a repeat name on the list and Janney’s adjusted price of $26.67 is fairly in-line with today’s level of $26.80.  The firm sees a target of $33.00 as fair value and that is not much higher than the Thomson Reuters consensus target of $30.32.  One other firm has a $35.00 target.  Janney’s top points were competing store closures, its evolving position to digital, loyalty programs, and having easy comparable expectations ahead.  With the buyback and turnaround underway, investors need to know that despite its 50% recovery bounce it is still considered “cheap” at well under 10-times earnings.  It is also a heavily shorted stock.

The Hersey Company (NYSE: HSY) was new on the list and Janney’s adjusted initiation was at $56.85 and shares were at $57.60 on Friday.  Its fair value target is $62.00 and Thomson Reuters has a consensus target of just over $59.00. It should be known that Hershey is now close to 5-year highs.  You know Hershey regardless of your age and Janney simply noted, “pricing power, superior ad spending and volume growth, and a compelling valuation.”

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE: AEO) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
Analog Devices Inc. (NYSE: ADI) Reiterated Buy and $50 target at Gleacher & Co.
ArcelorMittal (NYSE: MT) Raised to Hold at S&P Equity Research.
Barclays plc (NYSE: BCS) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) Cut to Hold at Canaccord Genuity; Cut to Neutral at Baird.
Diamond Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ: DMND) Started as Buy at Deutsche Bank.
First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) Reiterated Buy and $160 target at Auriga.
Foster Wheeler AG (NASDAQ: FWLT) Reiterated Outperform and raised target to $47 at Credit Suisse.
Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB) Started as Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
Hershey Co. (NYSE: HSY) Raised to Buy at Argus.
Polycom, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLCM) Raised to Outperform as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Ross Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: ROST) Started as Buy at UBS; Raised to Hold at Jefferies.
Seagate Technology PLC (NYSE: STX) Started as Buy at Auriga.
Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ: SYMC) Raised to Neutral at BofA/ML.
Tower Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: TWGP) Maintained Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Vail Resorts Inc. (NYSE: MTN) Cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.
Western Digital Corp. (NYSE: WDC) Started as Buy at Auriga.

You can join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader and active trader alerts, dividend trends, news on Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C. OGG

Rising corn prices, now above $7.66/bushel, is almost certain to drive cattle prices higher because ranchers are not increasing their herd sizes as they normally would with rising cattle prices because corn prices are rising faster. The PowerShares DB Agriculture ETF (NYSE: DBA) and the Market Vectors Agribusiness ETF (NYSE: MOO) are both trading essentially flat so far today.

Other ag-related stocks are also showing little movement today. Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE: TSN), Smithfield Foods Inc. (NYSE: SFD), and Hormel Foods Corp. (NYSE: HRL) are trading essentially flat. Farm equipment makers Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE), CNH Global N.V. (NYSE: CNH), and AGCO Corp. (NYSE: AGCO) are all trading down about -1%. Fertilizer maker Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS) reported earnings today, and missed revenue expectations. However, the company sold 2.4 million tons of its phosphate fertilizers at $543/ton, way above last year’s sales price of $336/ton. The company also guided phosphate sales between 2.5 and 2.9 million tons for its fourth fiscal quarter ending in May.

Cocoa prices continue their slide as United Nations and French troops supporting the elected president of Ivory Coast, Alassane Ouattara, are negotiating with forces of the outgoing president, Laurent Gbagbo, who refused to relinquish power. Cocoa futures have fallen from a high of $3,775/ton early this month to $2,982, and the drop is expected to continue as hundreds of thousands of tons of cocoa in Ivory Cost warehouses are released into the market.

Chocolate makers Hershey Co. (NYSE: HSY) shares are up more than 1% today. The world’s largest maker of bulk chocolate, Swiss-based Barry Callebaut AG, said earlier that it would be able to meet its contractual obligations to Hershey, Nestle SA, and Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT) without relying on Ivory Coast supplies.

Gold and silver are also continuing to set record highs. Gold is trading above $1,450/ounce, and silver has risen to more than $39/ounce. The SPDR Gold Shares ETF (NYSE: GLD) is up more than 1% today, and the iShares Silver Trust (NYSE: SLV) is up more than 1.5%. Gold miners are faring better, with the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE: GDX) up about 3.5% and the Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (NYSE: GDXJ) up about 3.75%. The Global X Silver Miners ETF (NYSE: SIL) is up about 3% as well.

West Texas Intermediate crude is off slightly, to below $108/barrel, while Brent crude is up to more than $122/barrel. The WTI price could fall further as the United States Oil ETF (NYSE: USO) begins to rollover its contracts tomorrow. WTI is priced at delivery at the storage facility in Cushing, Oklahoma, which is absolutely full to the top. Because the USO rolls its contracts forward every month, more oil that could presumably flow into the tanks at Cushing have to go somewhere else. Either refiners have to take the barrels or the barrels have to be exported. In either event, WTI prices are almost certain to fall. The question, of course, is by how much.

Paul Ausick

That prediction was made last year by the Nature Conservation Research Council and was carried on NPR, the U.K.’s  Independent newspaper and a host of other media outlets.  The group’s head, John Mason,  is quoted by the Independent as saying “In 20 years chocolate will be like caviar. It will become so rare and so expensive that the average Joe just won’t be able to afford it.”

That’s a pretty bold statement to make.   Forecasting cocoa or any commodities markets for 20 weeks is pretty difficult.  Predicting what the world will be like in 20 years is at best an educated guess and at worse like throwing a dart at a target blindfolded.    It also is a tough metaphor to prove since these products are sold in vastly different quantities.    One product is plentiful and the other rare.

Prices for chocolate’s main ingredient at a 30-year high of about $3,340 a ton on the New York Mercantile Exchange.   Caviar, one the other hand, sells between $90 and $150 an ounce.   There are 35,273 ounces in a metric ton.    So theoretically, a ton of caviar would cost about $3.5 million.

To be sure, chocolate prices are headed higher which will squeeze the profit margins of Hershey Co.  (NYSE: HSY), Campbell Soup Co.  (NYSE: CPB), maker of Pepperidge Farm cookies, General Mills Inc.  (NYSE: GIS), whose brands include Betty Crocker, Haagen Daas and Pillsbury, and other food companies, grocery chains and retailers.    The situation is especially bad in the Ivory Coast where there is a political stand-off over who should be the president of the world’s largest cocoa exporter.

Bloomberg Businessweek reported that some are predicting that prices may rise another 14%  should an export ban be continued through may.  As the news organization notes, it’s a dicey situation.

Exports, accounting for 34 percent of global supply, were banned Jan. 24 by Alassane Ouattara, the internationally recognized winner of disputed presidential elections. The decree, combined with a lack of financing and trade restrictions imposed by the European Union in January, meant a 99 percent slump in the registration of beans for shipment in the two weeks ended March 3, the latest port data show.

Cocoa has risen 18 percent since the November elections, adding pressure to world food prices the United Nations says reached a record last month. Ouattara this week extended the ban until the end of the month. Another extension may take it into the mid-crop, the smaller of two annual harvests that starts in April.

The political stand-off will get resolved because there is too much money at stake.   Chocolate sales are pretty recession resistant too.  Market researcher Mintel says that US seasonal chocolate sales rose 16.3% between 2005 and 2010.

Of course as long as supply doesn’t meet demand, prices will remain high.  Maybe chocolate lovers will have to start munching on something affordable like carrots.

—Jonathan Berr

No matter what legislation comes out of the frenzied health care debate, economists say that it will cost the American taxpayer a great deal. Estimates run the gamut from the Obama administration’s claim that it will be paid for by cuts on existing programs to the conservatives’ assertion that reform will cost us close to a trillion dollars over the next ten years. The public will probably spend several hundred billion dollars over the next decade or so to make the necessary changes that have been highlighted over the course of the debate, with or without the reform bill. Alternatively, the current rise in health care use will inflate national costs nearly as much as the price of any reform would.

A large number of the infirmities and chronic and fatal illnesses in the United States are based on behavior, rather than accidents or genetics. This is the reason we have a “sin tax” on tobacco and alcohol: to compensate the costs in the health care system for the damage these products do. One of the proposals to cover health care costs is to impose a  sin tax on the foods that increase the epidemic of obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and heart attacks, and cost the health care system billions of dollars per annum.

24/7 Wall Street analyzed the four most dangerous ingredients in food (sugar, trans fat, saturated fat, and sodium) and estimated a sin tax for each of these. The tax could serve to curb consumption  of disease-causing substances and as a way to make those who make bad choices compensate the government and responsible citizens who have to pay higher insurance premiums. These proposals will have an enormous impact on the major producers and distributors of foods if Congress passes any of these measures. 24/7 Wall Street evaluated the companies that produce and distribute the foods and beverages that are likely to make people unhealthy. We analyzed the impact a sin tax would have on these 12 corporations and estimate the amount in taxes their products would produce for the government to be use to finance the health care reform.

Conclusion:

24/7 Wall Street estimates the government could collect $17.54 billion dollars each year from the four proposed sin taxes from these 12 companies that produce the most unhealthy substances in our foods. Making the reasonable assumption the 12 corporations comprise no more than ¼ of the total sales of sugar, salt, trans fat and saturated fat in the United States, this means the total collected sin tax each year will come to over $70 billion.

Trans Fats

The foods that are the absolute worst for people normally have some dietary function.  People need calories, cholesterol, and even fat in some measure. According to the USDA, the FDA, and most other nutritional guidelines, the only  substance or chemical commonly found in food that shouldn’t be eaten in any amount is trans fat.  It contributes to heart disease, obesity, increases “bad” cholesterol, and has no notable benefit whatsoever. Some studies have also linked transfats to Alzheimer’s, liver dysfunction, some forms of cancer, and infertility in women. It is effectively illegal in both Denmark and Switzerland to sell food products containing trans fat. In 2006, New York City banned restaurants from using anything greater than .5 grams per serving. Other major American cities, including Philadelphia and Chicago, have followed this example.

Using the NYC ban as a template, any food that contains .5 grams of trans fat or more is taxed 15% of the price.

1) Yum Brands – YUM owns a sizeable chunk of America’s secondary fast food chains with $10.8 billion in sales and nearly 350,000 employees. Almost all the trans fat Americans consume comes from artificially hydrogenated vegetable oils used in frying fast food, snack foods, and baked goods. Several of the biggest names on its roster rely especially heavily on fried food (KFC, A&W, Long John Silvers, and Taco Bell.) While you can find it in most fast food, deep-fried meat is one of the biggest ways we get trans fat into our systems.

Despite a portfolio entirely in fast food, Yum Brands owns KFC, which has a trans fat-free menu. However, their other major divisions – Long John Silvers and A&W – still have a menu full of items with 4-5 grams of the dangerous substance. Yum! had 3.7 billion in domestic sales last year. 24/7 Wall Street calculates the sin tax will yield $636 million each year from Yum! Products.

2) McDonald’s (MCD) – The largest fast food corporation in the world is also the target of health proponents and politicians. The chain has had many novels and several feature films made about  the health consequences of consuming their products. McDonald’s might be the single largest culprit for trans fat distribution in the United States with its $22 billion in revenue in the last year.

McDonald’s has begun to modify its menu, and the company’s french fries are now trans fat-free in the states. This evolution towards healthy foods doesn’t extend to most of the chain’s meat-containing products, and an extra 15% tax for some of the popular items may limit the popular “dollar menu” to salads and yogurts. Because of its size and profitability, if any fast food chain is going to survive a cultural nutrition shift, it’s MCD. $4.2 billion domestic sales. Annual sin tax: $1.17 billion.

3) Wendy’s/Arby’s Group Inc. (WEN) – This is one fast food company that might be severely damaged by the fallout from the trans fat tax. The most popular menu items at Wendy’s and Arby’s (the burgers and roast beef sandwiches, respectively) all exceed the minimum of .5 grams.  With a relatively small 67,000 employees and $3.5 billion in sales, the conglomerate can’t afford to take a hit based on a new domestic tax and afford to compete with Mickey D’s. $3,198 billion in domestic revenue – sin tax revenue: $432 million.

CoreBrand reviewed the top 100 hardest working brands for the final quarter of 2009.  Their researchers point out that “the food industry moves to the top of the list, reflecting the economy and the general improvement of consumer staples businesses. Hershey’s (HSY), Campbell Soup (CPB), and Kellogg (K) make it into the top 5.” On the other hand “troubled industries like financial services and auto manufacturers have seen dramatic decline.”

Harley-Davidson (HOG) is in the top 10 among the hardest working brands. Before rumors of a buy-out, the motorcycle firm’s stock languished at $25, down from $42 less than two years ago. Harley’s stock trades for a low 1.2 times sales. Also near the top of the list is crippled book retailer Barnes & Noble (BKS), which trades for .3 times sales. Blockbuster (BBI) is in the top 25, with a ratio of .1x sales. The firm said in its 10-K that it is at risk for filing Chapter 11.

Douglas A. McIntyre  douglasamcintyre@247wallst.com

A new study by CoreBrand sets values on  the relationships between brand equity and market cap among large American companies and the research points to two conclusions. The first is that iconic brands are critical to the stock market value of the firms that own them. Hershey (NYSE:HSY) ranked first in the CoreBrands study followed by Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) and Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) have spent billions of dollars to build brands which are universally recognized. The second is that weak companies with low market caps may find that their tattered brands make up an especially large part of their fallen share prices. This is probably because their companies are worth so little. Blockbuster (NYSE:BBI) and Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) fall into this category.

The list:

We have covered these with an outlook for what lies ahead for each these companies in their dividend rates and as a starting point for other big companies we think will hike their dividends.

Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) continued with its policy of an annual dividend hike.  The new dividend of $0.15 is up from $0.14 per quarter.  We went back to see its policy of dividend hikes, and this has gone on for years.  The yield based on Friday’s price is 1.96%, which some sites are rounding up to 2.00%.  There is more than enough dividend coverage, and as far as whether the dividend hikes will continue… let’s just say that ADM could probably double its dividend in the coming years.  At $30.61, its 52-week trading range is $23.13 to $33.00.

Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, LP (NYSE: BWP) is another recent distribution increase from late last week.  As a reminder and as with the field of LPs in oil and gas, this is a distribution rather than just an outright dividend.  It may seem odd that a natural gas interstate pipeline sees enough clarity to hike a distribution after the volatility we have seen in the Nat-Gas markets, but this actually just brings the dividend closer to the distribution yields of many oil and gas pipeline LP peers.  This bump from $0.48 to $0.50 per quarter gives an implied yield of 6.9%.  At $28.99, its 52-week range is $19.15 to $31.44.

Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL) is an easy dividend hike because its consumer products make it close to recession-proof.  The surprise wasn’t that a dividend hike came, it was by how much.  The bump was 20% to $0.53 per quarter.  We have over a decade of dividend hikes here and this is actually not the highest payout raise.  Also announced was a 40 million share buyback plan, which comes to about 8% of the outstanding shares.  The new yield is 2.67% and at $79.26 it has a 52-week trading range of $54.51 to $87.39.

Hasbro Inc. (NYSE: HAS) has decided that the toy business is likely to hold its own, and that the company can hold its own in a competitive field.  It raised its dividend by a surprising 25% to $0.25 per quarter.  The new effective yield is now 3.25% At $30.80, its 52-week trading range is $21.14 to $32.75.  The company still has more than ample dividend coverage, and this may put pressure on Mattel to bump its annual dividend later this year.

Hershey Co. (NYSE: HSY) may have been an obvious dividend hike.  After all the noise that was made over whether it would or could participate in a Cadbury-Kraft deal and after being classified as a dead money stock for years this just made sense. This brings up the issue that the company might not be about to pounce on another opportunity despite the company’s intention to look formergers.  Its quarterly dividend will now be $0.32 per quarter for a 3.45% (3.427% actually).  It had paid $0.298 per quarter over the last ten quarters.  At $37.35, its 52-week trading range is $30.27 to $42.25.  Five years ago this was a $60 stock.

L-3 Communications Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LLL) is not a usual stock to visit for dividend hikes in the minds of most investors, at least not on the surface. The defense sector company is into surveillance and reconnaissance systems.  The amount the dividend was raised also seems high as it was a 14% payout boost to $0.40 per quarter from $0.35.  The company has actually been raising its dividend by a handy amount for what is effectively each of the last six years.  After looking at an $8.15 expected earnings per share figure for 2010, there is no reason to believe that the payout growth is going to slow down.  There is also still much room to catch up to some aerospace/defense sector peers.  The new yield is 1.9% based on an $84.24 share price, and the 52-week trading range is $57.12 to $90.36.

Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) may be in a nomans land when it comes to analyzing dividends now that it has spun AOL out of its operations.  But the media giant hiked its dividend by about 13% to $0.2125 per quarter for an annual $0.85 payout.  At $27.03, the yield here is now 3.1%.  We also have an adjusted 52-week trading range of $17.81 to $32.85.  We’ll have to double-check this, but that 3.1% looks like a sector high for dividend yields.

The obvious notion here is that many companies are hiking their payoutd.  This might not be a return to the gold boom days, but companies are lifting their payouts now.  Stay tuned Monday for our new list of large companies we expect to making big dividend hikes this year.  You can also join our free email distribution list that goes out each morning with key analyst calls, day trader alerts, dividend changes, IPOs and secondary offering, Buffett and other guru news, and more.

JON C. OGG