"If there was ever a stock we can hold for a few years, natural gas company Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK) is it," says Ian Wyatt. Here's the latest from his Top Stock Insights.

"Chesapeake Energy is the largest independent natural gas company and most active driller of wells in the US. Its operating activities include the onshore exploration and production of natural gas.

"The Obama administration is keen on achieving energy independence for the US. Natural gas is a good option for energy, since it is inexpensive, clean and domestic. I believe the administration will continue to push natural gas as an alternative to oil, and create incentives for the industry.

"Maxwell Technologies (NASDAQ: MXWL) provides R&D services to the U.S. military and other government agencies; it's become the world's leading authority on ultracapacitors," says Timothy Lutts.

In The Cabot Stock of the Month report, he explains, "Ultracapacitors are handy little electronic devices that store and release electric energy more efficiently than batteries; they can be 10 times lighter than batteries and store and distribute energy 10 times more effciently than batteries."

"So what are ultracapacitors good for? Today, Maxwell-the primary American ultracapacitor manufacturer-is focusing its efforts on two fast-growing young industries: wind turbines and hybrid/electric vehicles.

"Zero greenhouse gas emissions, 90% average availability as a power source, minimal land requirements and competitive costs: those are just a few of the advantages of geothermal power," explains Roger Conrad.

In his leading-edge New World advisory, he looks at one favorite play on the sector: Ormat Technologies (NYSE: ORA), which operates a dozen geothermal plants worldwide.

"Geothermal's chief disadvantage is geographical limitations to large-scale applications. Geothermal plants are mainly economic in areas of subsurface or volcanic activity.

"A smart grid makes use of coded signals that travel along power lines, much like DSL broadband messages move through the phone telephone," explains growth stock expert Jim Powell.

In Global Changes & Opportunities Report, he looks at two favorite plays on the development of a smart grid: Esco Technologies (NYSE: ESE) and Quanta Services (NYSE: PWR).

"In a smart grid, the signals allow electric meters to report power consumption automatically to suppliers. At the same time, signals can be sent to customer's appliances such as freezers and refrigerators to prevent them from cycling on and off at the same time.

In February I interviewed Bill Gross back when the Dow traded at 7,182. Gross's message? Equities are dead. Or more specifically, in light of his expectation that there would be no economic growth for the foreseeable future, there was no point in risking an investment in common stock since it stands in line behind all sorts of debt for a piece of the cash flows of a company in the event of a bankruptcy.

Interestingly, President Obama spoke to reporters not long thereafter -- on March 3rd to be specific when the Dow was at 6,726 -- and during that talk, he mentioned that buying stocks might be a good deal. Since then, the Dow has risen 21.5% and since Gross recommended staying away from stocks, they've gained 13.8%. The Dow is at 8,175 as of this writing.

"Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway revealed a new position in Nalco Holding (NYSE: NLC); it's my favorite pure play on water filtration," says Chris Mayer in Daily Wealth.

"With a $1.6 billion market cap, Nalco is a small-cap stock, but it's actually one of the world's largest water-treatment companies. Customers use Nalco's products and services to prevent corrosion, contamination, and the buildup of harmful deposits.

"Buffett picked up 8.7 million shares. That makes Berkshire the second-largest shareholder in the company, with a little more than 6% of the shares.It's easy to see what Buffett likes.

"The solar sector has been notably weak, including First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR)," says Stephen Leeb. Despite the setback, the editor of The Complete Investor rates the stock a high risk buy.

"First Solar is one of the few whose earnings outperformed consensus estimates: its fourth-quarter results reported yesterday after the market's close were nearly 25% better than estimates.

"First Solar made $1.61 per share this past quarter; Wall Street was expecting $1.30 per share. Revenues were also ahead of estimates, although the company reduced 2009 revenue estimates by about 10%, citing short-term credit concerns for customers.

In his Validea newsletter, John Reese selects stocks using the investment strategies of the market's leading gurus, such as Benjamin Graham, John Neff, Warren Buffett, David Dreman, and Peter Lynch.

The advisor, and author of the just-published The Guru Investor, recently ran a screen based on the investment strategy of Kenneth Fisher to find his latest buy recommendation -- Kennametal (NYSE: KMT).

Reese explains, "For decades, the price-to-earnings ratio has been the most widely used valuation measure for stock investors, and a key tool in the arsenals of many of the gurus I follow. ut in 1984, Kenneth Fisher sent a shockwave through the P/E-conscious investment world.

"American Superconductor (NASDAQ: AMSC) should benefit from an update of the nation's power grid," says Jim Powell.

Here, the editor of Global Changes & Opportunities Report reviews this leading manufacturer of more efficient high temperature superconductor-based wires and cables.

"I've been writing about infrastructure stocks ever since it became apparent that big federal spending programs were on the way. I believe American Superconductor will perform very well. In fact, its price has already started to rise.

"American Superconductor is not yet profitable. However, the company is well past the development stage. AMSC makes high temperature superconductor (HTS) wires and cables that carry as much as 150 times the current as conventional products of the same weight and diameter.

"One of my favor defensive sectors is healthcare," says Elliott Gue; the contributing editor to Personal Finance looks to Quality Systems (NSDQ: QSII), a company that helps automate medical records.

Quantitative analyst Richard Moroney also sees opportunity in the same niche sector. In his Upside newsletter, he looks to a competing play, Cerner (NASDAQ: CERN). Here are their reviews.

"The President made health care a centerpiece of his campaign, including investments in health care-related information technology (IT).

"Health care IT systems can save doctors' offices and hospitals significant administrative costs as well as prevent mistakes. In addition, some major health insurance firms are already putting heavy pressure on their physician networks to adopt these systems."

"Medical offices and hospitals are seeking to automate many functions, from storing patient records online to automatically submitting insurance claims for reimbursement.

"It's estimated that as much as 90% of health care records at smaller medical practices are still maintained in paper form, while even bigger hospitals keep close to half of their records manually.

"Quality Systems, a holding in our growth portfolio, is a leading provider of such systems. It sells software used to manage electronic patient records, billing, scheduling and other common administrative functions for medical and dental practices.

"Infrastructure stocks have been laid low by the economic downturn; but once massive government stimulus programs get growth going again, these companies should be among the surest winners," says Stephen Leeb.

In The Complete Investor newsletter, the advisor explains, "We've found four top infrastructure stocks, now at bargain-basement levels, that we think will surge. All are all astonishingly cheap when you consider how vital their role is in worldwide economic growth."

"It would be difficult to find a group of stocks more leveraged to economic growth yet whose valuations imply there will be no growth.

"If you have any faith in the world's future, these stocks are for you, and we think they will be dramatic outperformers as stimulus spending starts to kick in.

"Most diverse among the four is Jacobs Engineering (NYSE: JEC), which serves the chemical, pharmaceutical, building/infrastructure, and oil and gas industries. Nearly 20% of its revenues come from government sources, domestic and foreign.

"The company has nominal debt and has been generating hefty free cash flow, which management has indicated it may use to acquire beaten-down compatible firms, adding to future growth.

"President Obama's proposed rebuilding plans are great news for steel and other industrial metals makers," says resource sector specialist Larry Edelson, who recommends a pair of beneficiaries: U.S. Steel Corp. (NYSE: X) and Alcoa (NYSE: AA).

The editor of Real Wealth newsletter explains, "Obama has pledged to give the U.S. economy a massive shot in the arm with the biggest public works spending package this nation has seen in more than 50 years.

"Besides spending on road, bridge, school improvements and construction, the plan is likely to include upgrading our deteriorating electrical grid and greater investments in public transportation, among other infrastructure projects. The plan is also expected to create about 2.5 million jobs.

"While steel and other base metal prices have tanked sharply this year on slumping global demand, companies that produce the metals have staged some massive cutbacks in production and many have shuttered large chunks of their operations.

Allscripts-Misys Healthcare Solutions (NASDAQ: MDRX) is the result of the recently completed merger of Florida-based Allscripts and the health care information technology business of London-based Misys.

The nearly ill-fated merger finally closed late in 2008, after having to be restructured following the untimely demise of Lehman Brothers, the architect of the original merger plans.

The merger with Misys places the company in the forefront of the Obama administration's emphasis on improving health care in part by improving the availability of medical information in electronic form.

Allscripts' solutions are the cutting edge of medical information systems, and the company should benefit substantially from a move in the direction suggested by Obama.

MDRX provides clinical software, connectivity and information solutions to its health care customer base throughout the United States. The company delivers its products through four divisions: Professional Solutions, Enterprise Solutions, Health Systems Group and Medication Services.

This post is part of a special report, A Dozen Ways to Play an Obama Building Boom.

"Project management firm Hill International (NYSE: HIL) is one of the best ways to profit from the public works projects planned in government stimulus packages," says Dave Dyer.

In his The Dave Dyer Newsletter, he explains, "HIL is a consulting company that provides expertise in the project management area. Their business is a people business, not a business that requires them to invest in a lot of heavy construction equipment.

"I think this gives them three advantages: first, they do not have the long marketing cycle that can last for years on a large project, second, they have greater flexibility to expand or contract as business opportunities change, and third, their fee-based revenue structure is less risky than other compensation models used in the construction industry.

"HIL has two divisions. Its original business, founded in 1976, was a construction litigation support company that supplied expert witnesses and other expertise to construction companies involved in contract disputes.

"They saw early in their history that they could also provide value as a dispute preventer rather than just an after the fact resolver, so they started a project management division.

This post is part of a special report, A Dozen Ways to Play an Obama Building Boom.

"Stocks in the water sector could soon flood their shareholders with a deluge of profits," says value investor Nathan Slaughter. In his Half -Priced Stocks, he explains, "Even in the 21st century, UNICEF reports that a staggering 1.1 billion in emerging markets still lack access to safe drinking water.

"And here in the U.S., the EPA has said we need to spend $275 billion to replace aging facilities -- including 800,000 miles of leaky, corroded pipeline that haven't been upgraded since the 1800's in some places.

"We see an incredible opportunities for the companies trying to combat the problem, particularly those involved with water distribution pipes, treatment facilities, purification technologies and other critical infrastructure.

"My top play in the sector is Veolia Environnement (NYSE: VE), a global juggernaut with $45 billion in annual revenues, operating on every continent.

"From humble origins supplying water to Parisians over 150 years ago, Veolia has grown to become the world's largest water utility. Today, it provides water and sewerage services to 130 million people in nearly 60 countries worldwide.