Monday's Power Rating Upgrades: HPT, AM, DPZ

Several intriguing stocks hit our Long Term PowerRating Upgrade list today. Stocks from such diverse and sometimes unexpected sectors such as hotels, greeting cards, and pizza were awarded upgrades.

The PowerRating method is based upon 12 years of extensive, statistically valid studies spread across most market and economic climates. The results are downright impressive resulting in an easy to use, numerical rating system that can pinpoint those stocks that truly have the best odds of top performance over the longer term.

Stocks that have earned a 10 Long Term PowerRating have been proven to have a 81% chance of being higher one year later, those with a 9 rating possess a 79.1% chance of being higher one year later. Conversely, those with the lowest 1, 2, or 3 ratings have shown to simply be too volatile, thus risky for prudent long term investment. Due to the extreme volatility of the low rated stocks, of course, several will outperform, sometimes returning many fold percentages. However, 65% have been proven to lose money over a year time period. In fact, they lost an average of 5% of the year timeframe. Our studies clearly indicate that conservative, long term investors should avoid stocks with low PowerRatings and build a portfolio of those with high ratings.

Today, the stocks undergoing upgrades are from the lower end of the scale. In fact, all the upgrades are from 3-4, 2-3 and 1-2. These may be good stocks to put on your watch list for further potential upgrades. Let's take a closer look at several of these stocks:

Hospitality Properties Trust(HPT | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) - This REIT invests in geographically diverse hotel and travel center properties in the United States. The company was just upgraded from a 3 to a 4 Long Term PowerRating. They suffered losses in the 2nd quarter due to issues with their "truck stop" properties Travel Centers of America experiencing issues due to surging diesel fuel prices.

In response, HPT deferred a portion of the rent for up to 30 months. This resulted in the losses for the quarter. Technically, the stock has been in a downtrend until yesterday where it appears to have found a bottom and bounced a little. Dropping fuel prices may work to lift this stock.

American Greeting Corp (AM | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) - A greeting card company that has recently reaffirmed its guidance for fiscal 2009. They have moved from a 2 to a 3 Long Term PowerRating and are participating in a $100 million dollar share repurchase program. The stock is struggling, being in a downtrend since September 22, 2008. However, it is currently bouncing on the chart and may have found a bottom.

Dominos Pizza (DPZ | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) - This popular pizza delivery chain was just upgraded from a 2 to a 3 Long Term PowerRating. Unlike the other featured upgraded stocks today, Net Income and Earnings Per Share were up substantially in the 2nd quarter. However, technically it looks similar. A steep downtrend then a bounce today off what may become a bottom.

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. Click the link above or call us at 888-484-8220 extension 1 to get your copy of the "5 Secrets to Successful Stock Investing" today!

David Goodboy is Vice President of Marketing for a New York City based multi-strategy fund.