Monday's PowerRating Upgrades: ALE, BLUD, GWW

Another chaotic start to the stock market week! Headlines screaming meltdown, bankruptcy, and emergency federal funding are rocking the markets across the board today.

Choosing the right stock at the right time is always the critical decision an investor needs to make, however, in volatile, uncertain times like these it becomes all the more mission critical.

We have devised a system called PowerRatings to help guide you in choosing top performing stocks regardless of the market environment. 12 years of statistically valid testing have proven the validity of this stock picking methodology. PowerRatings rank the universe of stocks on a scale from 1 to 10 based on proprietary formulas developed by several of the top minds in the financial world.

Stocks that earn a 10 rating have shown to have an 81% chance of being higher one year later, those with a 9 rating possess a 79.1% chance of being higher a year later. On the other hands, stocks with low 1, 2 or 3 ratings have proven time and time again to simply be too volatile thus risky for prudent, conservative long term investments. Make no mistake about it, low rated stocks can sometimes have stellar performance, but the risk factor is off the charts for those looking for conservative, yet strong growth.

Let's take a closer look at several interesting Long Term PowerRating upgrades this week:

Allete Inc (ALE | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) - This Minnesota based energy and real estate company was just upgraded from an 8 to a 9 Long Term PowerRating. It's considered part of the diversified utilities sector that has a 10 rating. They have recently reaffirmed guidance for the rest of 2008; however income is down in the second quarter compared to same quarter last year.

However, they just signed an agreement to purchase an interstate transmission line for wind power to meet state guidelines for renewable energy percentages. Technically, the stock bounced nicely off the 50-day Simple Moving Average and is nicely above the 200-day Simple Moving Average.

Immucor (BLUD | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) — A medical diagnostic company that develops agents that test blood for certain properties. Technically, the stock has been in a nice uptrend since July 7th but has recently started channeling between $31 and $33/share. Revenues are up 12% and Earnings Per Share are up 17% over last year. It was just upgraded from a 7 to an 8 Long Term PowerRating.

WW Grainger (GWW | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating) — This is an unexpected upgrade from the electronic wholesale sector. It's substantially outperforming its sector rating of 6 with an 8 rating now. Their sales are up 11% over July of last year, and have recently announced a joint venture with an Indian based company. Technically, the stock is hugging the 50-day Simple Moving Average and is nicely above the 200-day.

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