STOCK PICKS: Top 5 Large-Caps Aug. 13

Each business day, TheStreet.com Ratings compiles a list of the top five stocks in five categories -- fast-growth, all-around value, large-cap, mid-cap and small-cap -- and publishes these lists in the Ratings section of our Web site.

This list is based on data from the close of the previous trading session. Today, large-cap stocks are in the spotlight. These are stocks of companies with market capitalizations of over $10 billion that rank near the top of all stocks rated by our proprietary quantitative model, which looks at more than 62 factors. In addition, the stocks must be followed by at least one financial analyst who posts estimates on the Institutional Brokers' Estimate System. The stocks are ordered by their potential to appreciate.

Note that no provision is made for off-balance-sheet assets such as unrealized appreciation/depreciation of investments, market value of real estate or contingent liabilities that might affect book value. This could be material for some companies with large underfunded pension plans.

CSX (CSX Quote) owns one of the largest rail networks in the U.S. CSX has been rated a buy since September 2004. We are encouraged by the company's strong financial performance in the second quarter of fiscal 2008, including its growth in net income and revenue.

The second-quarter results reflected a 14.9% year-over-year increase in revenue and a 17% increase in operating income, both of which were all-time records for the company. Revenue increased in eight of the company's 10 markets due to strong demand for export coal, grain, ethanol, metals and phosphates and fertilizers. Net income grew 18.8% to $385.00 million. Additionally, the company experienced strong earnings growth of 31.0%, which helped drive the stock price up 27.58% over the past year.