3 Top PowerRatings Upgrades for Investors: BNI, EW, HRL

All of the stocks getting significant PowerRatings upgrades as of Monday's trading are also three stocks that we have been pointing out to investors for the past few weeks. The fact that many of these stocks are experiencing upgrades right now is a good sign for those who had been watching these stocks for the past month so while waiting for a moment to strike.

So let's go to the stocks. First know that all three stocks in today's report have Long Term PowerRatings of 9. Our research, involving thousands of simulated trades between 1995 and 2007, showed that stocks with Long Term PowerRatings of 9 have been both reliable and better performers than the average stock.

For example, we found that 9-rated stocks were higher one year later more than 79% of the time. This compares favorably to the average stock which was higher one year later less than 68% of the time based on our historical testing.

In addition to being more reliable, stocks with Long Term PowerRatings of 9 have simply been better performers than the average stock. We found that stocks with Long Term PowerRatings of 9 have tended to average more than 18% after one year. The average stock, by comparison, has averaged gains of between 12-13% over the same time period.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNI@BNI | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) is a stock we highlighted back in May as part of our conversation on railroad stocks. (See our "Railroad Crossing: Top PowerRatings Upgrades for Investors")

In addition to having a Long Term PowerRating of 9, BNI belongs to the Railroads industry group, an industry with a PowerRating of 7. Also in that group is 8-rated stock, Union Pacific.

Burlington Northern has a modest dividend yield of 1.20, and is within three points of its 52-week high at 114.58 as of this writing. BNI has a P/E just north of 20.

More recently, we introduced readers to Edwards Life Sciences (EW@EW | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating). Edwards Life Sciences, which also has a Long Term PowerRating of 9, is a stock we introduced to investors just last week when the stock had an impressive Long Term PowerRating of 8.

Edwards Life Sciences specializes in products and treatments for cardiovascular disease, and is the number one developer of heart valves in the world. The stock is trading within two points of its 52-week high and has a P/E of more than 36.

Last but not least is Hormel Foods Corporation (HRL@HRL | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating), which also has a Long Term PowerRating of 9. Hormel was a Featured stock way back in January, and while the stock's price has moved lower, its Long Term PowerRating remains high - in fact, a 9-rating is the second highest possible rating for a stock in our system. These means that Hormel Foods remains a stock that investors should be focused on.

Hormel Foods has a dividend yield of 2.00 and a P/E of 15.70. The stock is trading in the lower half of its 52-week price range from 42.77 and 36.60, as of this writing.

Looking for more long-term solutions to your investing problems? Don't let the volatility of this market lead you to miss out on stocks you'll be glad to have bought a year from now.

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David Penn is Senior Editor of PowerRatings.net.