Buy - Price 118 on July 1 by Singular Research Ameron manufactures fiberglass and concrete pipe used in oil and gas, chemical, and water/wastewater systems; PVC liner that protects pipelines from the effects of corrosion; and wind-turbine towers and decorative concrete and steel outdoor lampposts. It owns a construction-materials business in Hawaii, and a minority stake in a steel mini-mill in Southern California. AMN reported weak Q2 top line, but upside results from Tamco steel [a joint venture] rebounded strongly. Management maintained a stable growth outlook. We're raising our target from 123 to 143, implying that AMN should sell for 18 times our fiscal '09 earnings-per-share estimate of $7.96. Risks: Many of its end markets are cyclical. [Hence, its] growth gets a higher discount than other typical growth companies. Market cap: $1 billion.

Outperf./Speculative -Price 58.88 on July1 by Morgan Keegan [Bakersfield, Calif.-based Berry is an independent oil and natural-gas producer which has been growing due to development and exploitation of acquisitions.] We're updating our Q2 and full-year earnings estimates to reflect Q2 second-quarter average oil and natural-gas prices of $124 and $11.25, respectively, and full-year prices of $114 and $10. Five-year estimated earnings-per-share growth rate: 10%. Market cap: $2.6 billion.

Market Outperform - Price 28.06 on July 1 by Avondale Partners We've [recently] spoken with 30 Bob Evans [restaurants], and were surprised to learn that overall, the...majority of comments related to year-over-year trends within the units were positive. In Bob Evans channel checks, 63% of the units we spoke with had increases in traffic...consistent with the restaurant's May [same-store-sales], up 4.4%. Of the 15 Mimi's Cafes we spoke with, comments were more lukewarm than at Bob Evans, but given Mimi's recent SSS track record, we could view lukewarm as an improvement. The concept's May SSS were down (5%). [Yet]... 47% indicated a traffic increase...Trading at 13 times our FY09 estimate of $2.15 and 11.2 times our new FY10 estimate of $2.50, while growing earnings and improving margins despite the current operating environment....BOBE shares [look like] a unique buying opportunity in the restaurant space. Market cap: $875 million.

Buy - Price 8.83 on July 2 by Sandler O'Neill We're upgrading shares of CIT, a commercial and consumer finance company, to Buy from Hold, following [last week's] announcement that it agreed to sell all of its residential-mortgage exposure for roughly 63% of the unpaid principal value. This... follows several steps taken by management...to solidify its liquidity position, which included securing a $3 billion credit facility from Goldman Sachs....We are lowering our price target to 11 from 13, to reflect the reduction of roughly $6 in tangible book value stemming from the $2 billion after-tax loss on the sale. Our new price target assumes about a 25% discount to our $14.35 estimate of 2Q tangible book value, which is at a slight discount to its commercial finance peers. Market cap: $2.5 billion.

Buy - Price 14.76 on July 1 by Merriman Curhan Ford GSI acquired Maoming Hengda Steel Group...located in Maoming City, Guangdong Province, in China's southern coastal region near Shenzhen and Guangzhou. Hengda has around 1.8 million tons of production capacity, bringing GSI's...total capacity to around 4.8 million tons. GSI believes it can ramp up capacity at Hengda to around 47% by [the] calendar year end, from the current 10% to 15% and continue the ramp in 2009, suggesting strong demand for wire and rebar in this province. We believe the valuation for Hengda Steel seems cheap at $7.1 million, given the current equity or book value of around $11 million....we're lowering our FY08 EPS estimate to 65 cents from 89 cents (we project very little impact this year from the Hengda Steel acquisition). We are raising our FY09 EPS estimate to $1.50, as lower gross-margin assumptions for GSI's core business are more than offset by the ramp in volume and profits at Hengda Steel. Estimated fiscal-year 2009 price/earnings ratio: 7.5 times. Market cap: $512 million.

Neutral - Price 2.17 on July 1 by Global Hunter Securities Hartmarx, the largest manufacturer and marketer of men's suits and sport coats in the U.S., has been completing a strategic initiative to exit the majority of its low-margin, moderately priced, tailored men's clothing sold through mainstream department stores. While strategy execution has been on-plan, the slowdown in consumer spending is now negatively impacting HMX' income statement and balance sheet. Given ongoing weak consumer environment, we've cut our rating to Neutral, from Buy. We believe HMX' valuation should merit a P/E of 13 times our '09 EPS estimate, or 8 times our E-Ebitda [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization], for a 2 target. Market cap: $76 million.

Buy - Price 6.84 on June 20 by Morgan Joseph The National Association of Theater Owners [reports that in five of] the last seven recession years, movie theaters' gross box office...increased; during/following the 2001 U.S. recession, U.S. GBO revenues increased 9% and 14% y/o/y in 2001 and '02, respectively, with average attendance up 4% and 11%.... Led by Wall-E and Wanted, studio revenues for the top 12 movies were $179.2 million -- up roughly 22% from the same weekend last year. Our 9 target is based [on] a 10 times multiple of enterprise value to our 2009 E-Ebitda. Some risk factors: balance sheet is highly levered. Market cap: $296 million.

Hold - Price 43.57 on July 1 by Jefferies & Co. LM [recently] announced its fourth round of charges resulting from capital support for struggling SIV [structured-investment vehicle] holdings. Total after-tax charges are expected to equal $154.5 million in F1Q09....Our 48 price target [down from 57] is based on an 10.5 times multiple of our new calendar-year '09 E-EPS, a discount to peers. We believe current challenges in LM's mutual-fund business and SIV exposure will limit near-term multiple expansion. Risks to our estimates include ongoing equity outflows and further SIV-related charges. Market cap: $6.3 billion.