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PortfolioGrader Pro: Top 3 Agriculture Stocks

The U.S. Department of Agriculture expects food prices to climb 4% to 5% in 2009 as high demand for grain products persists in North America. Skyrocketing food costs have put a damper on businesses like Costco that are squeezed by the initial cost of their inventory and consumers reluctant to spend money.

So why is it stocks on, say, my Emerging Growth Buy List are largely unaffected by high commodity prices? Simply, we own the fertilizer companies that are reporting record sales to farmers who want bigger harvests! And farmers want bigger harvest to cancel out worldwide food shortages.

The USDA says that corn growers in the U.S. use about 137 pound of nitrogen fertilizer per acre. You can imagine the demand that creates for fertilizer companies' products!

So which companies are expected to profit? PortfolioGrader Pro, my FREE stock ranking tool, has identified the Top 3 fertilizer companies in the agriculture sector and graded them based on their superior fundamentals!

• CF Industries (CF): Not only did this agriculture play report a 200% income increase, it also posted a 40% earnings surprise!
• Terra Industries (TRA): This fertilizer manufacturer took Wall Street by storm when it announced it had earned $0.65 more than analysts' estimated $1.22 per share–that's a 53.3% earnings surprise!
• Potash (POT): This fertilizer-giant recently reported that its sales doubled and earnings rose 220.5%–that's a 12% earnings surprise!

These terrific numbers my fertilizer picks keep putting up further indicate that agriculture is still a valid–and profitable–way to play this market. All four of my Buy Lists contain stocks from this sector and until PortfolioGrader Pro blacklists these companies and their fundamentals start to fizzle, they will remain an integral part of my portfolios.

My Buy Lists are poised to profit the second half the year–is yours? Sign up for PortfolioGrader Pro today and see if your portfolio makes the grade--it's absolutely FREE!

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