"The US natural gas storage cycle is fairly straightforward: More gas is consumed in winter than in summer because natural gas is a key source of heat," explains Elliott Gue.

In his industry-leading The Energy Strategist, the energy sector specialist makes a bullish case for natural gas as well as contract driller Nabor's Industries (NYSE: NBR).

"The year started off with gas storage levels falling in line with the average. In late February or early March that all changed: Storage levels jumped and eventually broke to a new five-year high.

"Our focus this summer remains on building positions in the bombed-out natural gas market; there's no other commodity this depressed, this unwanted and trading at such distressed levels," says resource expert Eric Roseman.

In his industry-leading, The Commodity Trend Alert, he explains, "Indeed, the bombed-out natural gas sector is screaming 'buy'." Here, he looks at TransCanada Corp. (NYSE: TRP).

"The way prices have been heading over the last several months you'd think the world doesn't use this clean-burning fossil fuel anymore.

"Natural gas prices remain 70% off their 52-week high and more than 75% below their all-time highs almost four years ago when Hurricane Katrina smashed the Gulf of Mexico.

"Despite coming close to bankruptcy in 2002, Williams Co. (NYSE: WMB) has some of the premier assets in each of its business segments: exploration & production, mid-stream and pipelines," says turnaround expert George Putnam.

In his The Turnaround Letter, he explains, "The company now has the financial strength not only to survive the current downturn but to grow and prosper."

"Begun in 1908 as a pipeline construction company, Williams is now a major, integrated natural gas company; it produces, gathers, processes and transports natural gas throughout the United States.

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.

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.

"ProShares Ultra Oil and Gas (NYSE: DIG), my top idea for 2009, is an exchange-traded fund that positions itself with the performance of the United States' top oil and gas companies," says growth stock specialist Paul Tracy.

In his StreetAuthority Market Advisor, he explains, "The 'ultra' part of its name means that the fund uses leverage, which magnifies returns by a factor of two relative to the Dow Jones U.S. Oil & Gas Index."

The advisor continues, "DIG is a leveraged ETF. In short, for every 1% the U.S. Oil & Gas Index rises, DIG should rise 2%. That means the performance of DIG is dictated by the moves of the largest industry heavyweights like ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, and Chevron.

"In addition to integrated oil companies, DIG is also exposed to major oilfield service companies like Schlumberger and Halliburton and gas-industry leaders like Apache.

"The world simply cannot, in its current form, live without fossil fuels. Global demand for petroleum is roughly 85 million barrels of oil a day, which means the activity in the oilfields simply never stops.

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.

"If you're looking for a low-risk stock that's held up well in this dizzying market spiral, here it is: Fortis Inc. (TSE: FTS), my top pick for 2009," says Gordon Pape in The Canada Report.

"Fortis is trading at about the same level now in Canadian dollar terms as it was in early September. How many companies can say that?

"Don't confuse this with the troubled European financial giant of the same name. This Fortis is the largest investor-owned gas and electric distribution utility in Canada. Its regulated holdings include a natural gas utility in British Columbia and electric utilities in five Canadian provinces and three Caribbean countries.

"Third-quarter financial results were very strong and beat analysts' forecasts. Fortis reported net income of $49 million ($0.31 per share) compared to $31 million ($0.20 per share) in the same period of 2007 (figures in Canadian dollars). Year-to-date earnings were $169 million ($1.08 per share) compared to $114 million ($0.86 a share) for the first nine months of 2007.

"We are moving headlong into oil," notes John Reese, who analyzes stocks based on the criteria used by "legendary" investors such as Buffett, Graham and Lynch.

In his Validea newsletter, he says, "My fundamental models indicate that the oil industry is where the best values in the market are." Here's a look at W&T Offshore (NYSE: WTI), which is based on the criteria used by contrarian David Dreman.

"The economy and stock market have gone through a legitimate crisis because of the credit woes, and it takes time for something like that to work itself out.

"But the important thing to remember is that we've been through financial crises before -- even bad-debt financial crises like this one -- and the market has always stabilized and then pushed higher.

"And history has shown that those who can stick with the stock market through down times like these will be rewarded.

"David Dreman -- one of the gurus I base my strategies on -- notes in his recent Forbes column, 'If you pack up now, chances are you'll miss a good part of the next bull market. A large part of the gains are always made in the first few months of one, when market-timing investors are still on the sidelines.'

"First recommended in September 2004, Helix Energy Solutions (NYSE: HLX) is the oldest holding on our Buy List - and the biggest winner, gaining 133%," notes Richard Moroney.

Here, the editor of Upside explain, "Considering its bright profit-growth prospects, reasonable valuation, and impressive Quadrix scores, Helix remains among our very best ideas and a top pick in the oil patch."

"Helix serves energy producers worldwide, providing such contract services (36% of total revenue for the nine months ended September) as deepwater pipe-laying, well operations, robotics, and reservoir services.

"The shelf-contracting business (34%) consists of 59%-owned Cal Dive International (NYSE: DVR), a provider of dive-related and shallow-water construction services.

"The fast-growing oil and natural gas production business (30%) focuses on marginal, mature, and smaller fields - properties no longer significant or viable for large energy companies. Fueled partly by high energy prices, petroleum companies are increasingly targeting mature and small reservoirs.