Welcome back to another Foolish review of the hottest stocks, as ranked by Motley Fool CAPS. We're looking at the three best-performing industries over the past 30 days, and your favorite long and short candidates in each.

Last time, natural gas explorers were playing with matches. They're at it again today, up 19.8% as a group since mid-April. Who are the other hotheads? Have a look:

  • Insurers are underwriting returns for investors, who've watched this group advance by 18.4% over the last 30 days.
  • Jewelers, meanwhile, have generously accessorized the portfolios of their shareholders, up 15.3% as a group over the past month.

According to you, our Foolish readers, the best stocks in these industries to own now -- i.e., those with four or five of the maximum five stars in CAPS -- are:

Company

CAPS stars

(5 max)

No. of CAPS ratings

Bullish CAPS ratings

Bull ratio

Spectra Energy (NYSE:SE)

*****

115

112

97.4%

First Mercury Financial (NYSE:FMR)

*****

11

10

90.9%

Charles & Colvard

****

126

123

97.6%

Eagle Rock Energy (NASDAQ:EROC)

****

31

30

96.8%

ING Group (NYSE:ING)

****

164

158

96.3%

Universal Insurance (AMEX:UVE)

****

54

51

94.4%

China Natural Gas

****

57

53

92.9%

Source: Motley Fool CAPS

And your favorite short candidates -- i.e., those rated with one or two stars in CAPS -- are:

Company

CAPS stars

No. of CAPS ratings

Bearish CAPS ratings

Bear ratio

Zale (NYSE:ZLC)

*

19

13

68.4%

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN)

*

1,104

543

49.2%

Source: Motley Fool CAPS

Do you agree? Disagree? Let us know what you think by signing up for CAPS today. It's 100% free to participate.

Cap off your day with related CAPS Foolishness:

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Fool contributor Tim Beyers, ranked 5,787 out of more than 28,900 in CAPS, didn't own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this story at the time of publication Tim's portfolio holdings can be found at his Fool profile. His thoughts on hot stocks, Foolishness, and investing in general may be found in his blog. The Motley Fool's disclosure policy is hotter than city asphalt in the summer heat.