The Stocks Wall Street Loves

Despite all of Wall Street's conflict and contention, a fortunate few companies enjoy unanimous support among professional analysts. If the market's movers and shakers all believe these companies will beat the long-term averages, surely they will ... right?

Not so fast! With help from the 180,000 members of Motley Fool CAPS, we'll see whether these high-flying favorites deserve analysts' unwavering support.

Source: Motley Fool CAPS

As you can see, there's a wide range of results so the simple fact of Wall Street loving 'em doesn't mean you have to. Use the list as a jumping off place for your own research.

Everywhere but the Spanish Main
Although operations in the Gulf of Mexico were disrupted by the drilling disaster there, ultra-deepwater driller Seadrill continues to believe it will be a key area for production and discovery. It noted that while the number of drillships and semi-submersible rigs were still 20% below the level they were at before the Macondo well explosion, it expects that the Gulf, the coast of Brazil, and the west coast of Africa to become prime areas of activity as its customers explore and develop those oil fields.

It's joining Brazil's Petrobras (NYS: PBR) and Exxon in exploiting the deep-sea resources found there and has teamed up with Chevron (NYS: CVX) and Total off of Angola. With a dividend that currently yields 8.6%, Seadrill represents fellow Fool Travis Hoium's top pick amongst offshore drillers.

That agrees with the sentiment of CAPS member jdwelch62, who says we'll need to tap these resources if we want to address our need for oil.

The world's thirst for oil doesn't show any signs of diminishing. We're going to need to drill in deeper waters to find the next big reserves. [Seadrill] is positioned to provide the means of doing so with their rigs. I've been loading up on high-yielding stocks that look like they can sustain their dividend payouts for the long haul, and just added [Seadrill] to my portfolio today.

Tell us in the comments section below or on the Seadrill CAPS page if you think it won't be set adrift by concentrating on the deep blue sea and add it to My Watchlist to see how it eventually plays out.

I get a charge out of you
Like lead-acid-battery maker Exide (NAS: XIDE) , filtration specialist Polypore International is using the traditional battery business as a base of support. But with the interest and growth in lithium-ion batteries, Polypore is focusing most of its attention on producing separation membranes for that segment. And why not? It enjoyed growth approaching 65% in the third quarter giving investors an opportunity to capitalize on this new niche without the risk of investing in some fickle carmaker.

Let's just hope Polypore doesn't forget its roots. I'm not convinced electric vehicles will achieve the mass market proponents predict, so despite A123 Systems (NAS: AONE) gearing up to produce tens of thousands of lithium-ion batteries for GM cars, lackluster sales in the marketplace suggest that even with generous tax breaks, consumers are hesitant to rush into the space. Polypore may find its tried-and-true lead-acid business is the crutch upon which it will continue to lean.

Wall Street's certainly convinced it will break through the barriers and 93% of the CAPS members filtering their thoughts through the investment community agree it will surpass the market averages. But if it's committing its resources to a sudden spate of manufacturing demand that won't be able to find an outlet, it may come up short.

Add Polypore to the Fool's free portfolio tracker to see whether it can continue to get a charge out of electric vehicles, and see what others are saying by heading over to the Polypore International CAPS page.

Agree to disagree
Tell us whether these stocks deserve to have Wall Street marching lockstep, but then check out The Motley Fool's new free report that highlights a company breaking all the rules on its way to huge, multiple-bagger gains. The report is free, so get a copy today!

At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributorRich Dupreyholds no position in any company mentioned.Click hereto see his holdings and a short bio.Motley Fool newsletter serviceshave recommended buying shares of Total, Polypore International, and Petroleo Brasileiro. Try any of our Foolish newsletter servicesfree for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe thatconsidering a diverse range of insightsmakes us better investors. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.

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