STOCK PICKS: Top 5 Fast-Growth for Aug. 11

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, fast-growth stocks are in the spotlight. These are stocks of companies that are projected to increase revenue and profit by at least 12% in the coming year and rank near the top all stocks rated by our proprietary quantitative model, which looks at over 60 factors.

In addition, the stocks must be followed by at least one financial analyst who posts estimates on the Institutional Brokers' Estimate System. Please note that definitions of revenue vary by industry, and this screen does not make adjustments for acquisitions, which can materially affect posted results. Likewise, earnings-per-share growth may be affected by accounting charges, share repurchases and other one-time items.

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.

Ameron International Corporation(amn Quote) manufactures highly-engineered products and materials for the chemical, industrial, energy, transportation and infrastructure markets worldwide.

Ameron has been rated a buy since June 2005. Strong performances from the Fiberglass-Composite-Pipe Group and TAMCO, Ameron's 50%-owned steel mini-mill, led to higher results in the second quarter of fiscal 2008. The company reported a slight revenue increase of 1.9% year over year, which appears to have helped boost earnings per share (EPS) from $1.63 in the second quarter of fiscal 2007 to $1.78 in the most-recent quarter. Net income increased 3.4% when compared with the same quarter one year prior, rising from $15.80 million to $16.33 million. Return on equity also improved slightly, and the company appears to be successfully managing its debt levels.