All Star Analysts Portfolio Highlights: GlobalSantaFe, Hilton Hotels, NCI and Transocean.

CHICAGO -- Zacks.com just released its latest additions and deletions to its proprietary All Star Analyst portfolio. Members on this exclusive list include GlobalSantaFe Corporation (NYSE: GSF), Hilton Hotels Corporation (NYSE: HLT), NCI, Inc. (NASDAQ: NCIT) and Transocean Inc. (NYSE: RIG). View the entire list of stocks on the All Star Analyst portfolio at http://at.zacks.com/?id=510

This exclusive portfolio represents all stocks with a Strong Buy rating from at least four analysts with a 5-Star All Star ranking. These are the brokerage analysts whose stock recommendations proved to be the most profitable for investors. Since July 2002, this portfolio has generated an annualized return of 9.34%, exceeding the S&P 500. Here is a synopsis of why these stocks are in the All Star Analysts Portfolio:

GlobalSantaFe Corporation (NYSE: GSF) said its contract drilling segment improved significantly in the third quarter as the strength of international offshore drilling markets continued. Earnings per share of $1.02 advanced substantially year over year, reflecting higher contract drilling revenues from increased dayrates and continued high fleet utilization. Revenues advanced to $909.2 million from $596.6 million. Furthermore, the offshore oil and gas drilling contractor repurchased $270 million during the third quarter under a $2 billion buyback program authorized by its Board on Mar 3.

Hilton Hotels Corporation (NYSE: HLT) reported recurring earnings per share of 31 cents for its third quarter, marking an increase of 41% from 22 cents in the same period of 2005. The result also topped the analysts' consensus by approximately 10.7%. Total revenue jumped 100% to $2.2 billion from $1.1 billion. Pro forma worldwide comparable owned revenue per available room advanced 9.8%, due to strong rate increases and high demand in most major markets. Hilton Hotels remains one of the All Stars' favorite names in the hotels industry for several reasons, including its improving fundamentals, strong balance sheet and the improvement in business demand.

NCI, Inc. (NASDAQ: NCIT) is a Zacks #2 Rank company that recently announced strong organic growth and record revenue for its third quarter. The provider of information technology services and solutions reported revenues of $59.9 million for the quarter, which marked a year-over-year rise from $50.1 million. Earnings per share of 18 cents came in short from a year earlier, but still bettered the consensus by 20%. Contract awards for the quarter reached $114 million. For the full year, NCI expects earnings per share between 63 cents and 66 cents on revenue of $210 million to $215 million.

Transocean Inc. (NYSE: RIG) reported third-quarter earnings per share of 83 cents, excluding items, on revenues of $1.03 billion. Earnings advanced from 50 cents a year earlier and beat Wall Street expectations by 13.7%. Revenue advanced from $762.6 million in the third quarter 2005. Transocean said that its record contract backlog should support prospects for further quarterly financial improvement. Analysts like the company's fundamentals, including its share repurchase program, its disciplined stance toward asset reactivations and its strong free cash flow.

Discover all the current All Star Analyst rankings and top analyst recommendations at http://at.zacks.com/?id=511

About Zacks All Star Analyst Survey

To learn which brokerage analysts are the best in their field and what stocks they're recommending today, see the Zacks All Star Analyst survey. This exclusive survey, created with Fortune Magazine, reveals the "Best-of-Breed" brokerage analysts. They are the select group of winners from the universe of brokerage analysts - the ones who consistently beat the street - the few you should be following now. Visit the Zacks All Star Survey to find the best analysts and their top stock recommendations at http://at.zacks.com/?id=512

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