The Best Stocks Right Now

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In the few weeks since we announced July's top stocks, the market has taken a turn for the worse and sent July's all-star stocks down with the rest of the general market.

The foreign stocks on last month's list -- Canadian Natural Resources, Chicago Bridge & Iron, Norsk Hydro (NYSE: NHY), and Net Servicos de Comunicacao -- were hit particularly hard, with many non-U.S. markets having taken a worse beating than our own. After such a broad sell-off, perhaps it's time to see whether these stocks are now on sale.

This month's list, as voted on by more than 60,000 investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, contains some old faces, including this month's top stock, Motley Fool Hidden Gems pick Mueller Water (NYSE: MWA). But it also introduces us to some new and exciting stock ideas, such as industrial packing company Greif (NYSE: GEF) and tiny Israeli tech concern Bluephoenix Solutions (Nasdaq: BPHX).

Here's the rest of this month's list.

Company	Market Capitalization*
Mueller Water	$1,612
Gerdau SA	$13,158
Atwood Oceanics (NYSE: ATW)	$2,073
Rofin-Sinar Technologies (Nasdaq: RSTI)	$1,105
Greif	$2,500
Net Servicos de Comunicacao SA	$4,452
American Software	$247
AAR	$1,145
Bluephoenix Solutions	$190
ONEOK (NYSE: OKE)	$4,600

*In millions. Data provided by Capital IQ (a division of Standard & Poor's) and Yahoo! Finance.

Packaging pays dividends
Ohio-based Greif can trace its roots back 130 years, when the company made casks and kegs to transport apples, potatoes, wine, and the like across the country. Today's company still generates three-quarters of its business in industrial packaging such as steel drums and bulk containers, but it also has its hand in commercial packaging material, such as cardboard and corrugated containers.

Sure, the packaging business may sound a bit boring, yet the cash this company generates from it is anything but dull. In the past 12 months, Greif produced $132 million in free cash flow, revenues are up 30% year over year, and operating margins have expanded to 8.7%. Greif has also rewarded its investors in the past few months, by splitting 2-to-1 in April and boosting its dividend by 55%.

Bullish sentiment for Greif is strong over on Motley Fool CAPS. Of the 198 CAPS players who have rated Greif, 197 of them think the stock will outperform the S&P going forward. Player dexion10 cites Greif's "dominant scale" in the packaging industry, as well as the company's international exposure, as reasons why Greif will outperform.

You can learn what other CAPS investors are saying about Greif by clicking here. If you'd like to voice your opinion about Greif, or any other company for that matter, join the 60,000-strong Motley Fool CAPS community now and make your voice heard. CAPS is 100% free -- just click here to get started.

Fool contributor Todd Wenning wishes more products were delivered by olde-tyme wooden kegs. He does not own shares of any company mentioned in this article. Norsk Hydro and ONEOK are Income Investor recommendations. Mueller Water and Rofin-Sinar are Motley Fool Hidden Gems selections.  The Fool's disclosure policy comes in a neat little package.