Today's noteworthy downgrades include: Airgas (ARG) downgraded to Neutral from Accumulate at Seaport Global... Bloomin' Brands (BLMN) downgraded to Buy from Conviction Buy at Goldman... Brinker (EAT) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman... Civitas Solutions (CIVI) downgraded to Outperform from Strong Buy at Raymond James... Columbia Sportswear (COLM) downgraded on a more cautious outloook at BofA/Merrill... Fairchild (FCS) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citi... Lennox (LII) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Longbow... Newfield Exploration (NFX) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman... Regis (RGS) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Piper Jaffray... Synergy Resources (SYRG) downgraded to Accumulate from Buy at KLR Group... Titan International (TWI) downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman... eLong (LONG) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Brean Capital.

Evercore ISI raised the firm's price target on Brinker to $50 from $48 and keeps an In Line rating on the shares. After a weather impaired January and February, the firm had hoped for a mid-quarter acceleration in restaurant industry same-store sales growth, but "trends remained lackluster," the analyst tells investors in a Q1 preview for the group. The firm estimates fast food industry same-store sales growth of 1.5% in Q1 and a casual dining segment same-store sales decline of 1%, noting that it recently lowered top-line forecasts for much of its coverage because of the sluggish trends lately.