This post is part of a special annual report -- Top Stock Picks '09 -- in which TheStockAdvisors.com asked 75 leading newsletter advisors to select their favorite investment for the new year.

As the name implies, Dividend Superstars focuses on quality income-generating ideas. Here, Nilus Mattive looks to Patterson-UTI (NASDAQ: PTEN) as his top "contrarian" idea for 2009.

"For the Dividend Superstars Annual Forecast Issue, I screened for companies that had zero debt, single-digit P/Es, recent dividend hikes, payout ratios under 25%, a dividend coverage ratio exceeding 2.

"While it was a tall order, one company jumped to the top of my list: Patterson-UTI. As one of the biggest land-based drillers in North America, the company is highly correlated to demand and prices for that commodity.

"Recently, that hasn't been a good thing, especially because the slowing economy and tight credit has made companies less inclined to drill. The shares have gotten, well, drilled!

"But everything is cyclical. And Patterson-UTI has the financial wherewithal to weather the storm. It also has plenty of money to dole out to shareholders.

Continue reading Top Stock Picks '09: Patternson-UTI (PTEN)

Top Stock Picks '09: Patternson-UTI (PTEN) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 13 Jan 2009 10:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.