Top Five Mid-Cap Stocks

Each weekday, 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, updated daily, is based on data from the close of the previous trading session. Today, mid-cap stocks are in the spotlight. These are stocks of companies that have market capitalizations of between $500 million and $10 billion that rank near the top of all stocks rated by our proprietary quantitative model, which looks at more than 60 factors.

The stocks must also be followed by at least one financial analyst who posts estimates on the Institutional Brokers' Estimate System. They 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.

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Specialty chemical company Lubrizol(LZ Quote) leads the list today. It has been rated a buy since August 2005. Powered by strong earnings growth, the company's stock has jumped 42.06% over the 12 months prior to Aug. 3, and it should continue to move higher even though it has seen a very nice gain in the past year.

Lubrizol has demonstrated a pattern of positive EPS growth over the past two years, a trend that TheStreet.com Ratings expects it will maintain. Net income growth has greatly exceeded that of the S&P 500. These strengths outweigh the company's low profit margins.