This week the stocks that active investors are most interested in include a number of stocks we have highlighted in recent days as some of the better opportunities in stocks for longer-term investment or trade.

Every day we post a list of the stocks that visitors to PowerRatings.net have been most interested in. The stocks that appear on this list vary--from stocks that may have been in the news recently to stocks that may have appeared in our PowerRatings Featured Stock Spotlight. And sometimes these stocks are excellent candidates for long term trades or investment.

In this column we go through the various stocks that people have been interested in and see just how attractive some of these stocks may be. As always, we're looking for stocks with high, Long Term PowerRatings, preferably that hail from industries with high PowerRatings. When it comes to the stocks, we consider a Long Term PowerRating of 8 or higher to be a "high" PowerRating. And when it comes to industries, a PowerRating of 7 or higher is preferable--but not mandatory.

Let's start at the top, with a stock that has both the highest possible Long Term PowerRating and comes from an industry group with the highest possible PowerRating. What is this stock? How about Centerpoint Energy (CNP | news | PowerRating | PR Charts ), a diversified utility company we featured last week as part of our Featured Stock Spotlight?

Centerpoint Energy is not only a 10-rated stock. The company also belongs to an industry, Diversified Utilities, which has a PowerRating of 10.

How significant is this? We looked at thousands and thousands of simulated stock trades between 1995 and 2007. We found that stocks with Long Term PowerRatings of 10 were among the most reliable and best performing stocks that investors and long term traders could own. Specifically, we learned that stocks with Long Term PowerRatings of 10 were higher one year later more than 80% of the time. Compare that reliability to the average stock, which was higher one year later less than 68% of the time.

In addition to being more reliable, top rated stocks have simply been better performers than the average stock after one year. This same research indicated that 10-rated stocks tended to gain more than 20% in a year's time. By contrast, the average stock has tended to gain approximately 12-13% over the same period.

Although Centerpoint Energy is far and away the most attractive stock in today's report, we have three other stocks with high Long Term PowerRatings that investors and long term traders should keep in mind as they look for quality stocks to add to their portfolios. I have listed these stocks below--along with their Long Term PowerRatings charts, their individual Long Term PowerRatings, and the name and PowerRating of the industry group to which each stock belongs.

Procter & Gamble (PG | news | PowerRating | PR Charts ). Long Term PowerRating 9
Industry: Personal Products. Industry PowerRating 8

The Walt Disney Company (DIS | news | PowerRating | PR Charts ). Long Term PowerRatings 8
Industry: Diversified Entertainment. Industry PowerRating 10

Carolina Group (CG | news | PowerRating | PR Charts ). Long Term PowerRating 8
Industry: Cigarettes. Industry PowerRating 6

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. Click here to get a copy of our special, Free Report on the "5 Secrets to Successful Stock Investing," and learn what you need to know as an active investor looking to invest in companies with a history of financial strength and a track record for growth. Call us at 888-484-8220 to get your copy of the "5 Secrets to Successful Stock Investing" today.

David Penn is Senior Editor at TradingMarkets.com.

Contact us Toll-free 1-888-358-1193
Outside the U.S. please call 1-201-680-7112

INVESTOR CENTER

PREMIER SPONSORED LINKS