Are These 3-Digit Stocks Worth Every Penny?

True penny stocks are a minefield, but small-cap copper beauties can be one way to easily double your money.

There are also those companies whose shares trade at the other end of the price spectrum. I call 'em "three-digit stocks," though if they're anything like Berkshire Hathaway, they can trade in the four-, five-, and six-digit range, too.

While a penny stock might not be a good buy simply because it's cheap, a three-digit stock shouldn't scare you away just because it carries a hefty price tag. Handsome is as handsome does, so we check in with the Motley Fool CAPS community to see which ones might have the best chance of further succeeding.

Below are a handful of these high-priced highfliers, and we'll take a look to see if some members of the investor-intelligence database think they can maintain their lofty prices.

Source: CAPS and Capital IQ (a division of Standard & Poor's); TTM = trailing 12 months.

Highfalutin' honeys
Although coal remains China's top resource for energy production, oil continues to grow in importance. CNOOC, China's state-owned offshore oil explorer, may have been spurred to action recently by reports that China's oil imports had reached parity with domestic production, with imports accounting for 52% of total consumption last year. In September, CNOOC began negotiations with officials from Nigeria to purchase as much as one-sixth of its proven petroleum reserves, and last month it was making a rival bid to ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) for a stake in a giant discovery off the coast of Ghana. And the company just announced plans to drill the deepest-ever exploration well off of Kenya.

Go west, young man
The west coast of Africa has emerged as a potential major source of oil. While the cash from China could be a welcome source of revenue for these developing countries, it's not a sure bet. A bid from Exxon or Chevron (NYSE:CVX) represents the potential for more immediate development of the fields from experienced corporations, because China could be seen as still relatively new to the offshore oil game.

Even if CNOOC is successful, it would have to contend with the growing threat of piracy. Some observers believe that was part of the reason China agreed to go after Somali pirates earlier this year, in hopes of protecting future supplies.

CAPS All-Star creek138 writes that the tremendous growth anticipated for China makes CNOOC an attractive opportunity:

China is expected to grow over 10,000% in the next 40 years while the US is projected to grow only 300%. While most oil and gas companies will most likely not last that long, there is no doubt that the big Chinese companies will ride this wave as long as they possibly can. Buy China, and if you're looking to retire wealthy and have at least a 20 year cushion, buy safe and buy big. Relatively, there's less opportunity for catastrophic losses in these big guys, especially if you diversify among most of them, and you will still get great returns.

Steely resolve
That kind of growth should also fuel demand for steel. Korean steelmaker POSCO benefited from the recovery underway worldwide as capacity utilization continues to increase, similar to what Nucor (NYSE:NUE) is reporting. Improving profit margins are certainly a welcome sight for POSCO and the industry, but there are indications that it won't be a uniform recovery. Signs suggest that perhaps only foreign steel producers and their smaller U.S. counterparts will fare better right now, with larger American producers like United States Steel (NYSE:X) lagging far behind.

Overall, 97% of the 876 CAPS members rating POSCO see it outperforming the broader market. It trades at just nine times next year's earnings, making it a better value compared with others in its industry. ArcelorMittal (NYSE:MT), for example, trades in excess of 15 times forward earnings.

With China expected to continue growing by leaps and bounds, there ought to be plenty of support for steelmakers in the future.

Count to 10
These three-digit stocks might go even higher. That's why it pays to start your own research at Motley Fool CAPS. Read a company's financial reports, scrutinize key data and charts, and examine the comments your fellow investors have made -- all from a stock's CAPS page.

Want help finding your own three-digit darlings? Join Fool co-founders David and Tom Gardner at Motley Fool Stock Advisor as they search for stocks with the potential to double, triple, and even quadruple over time.

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