The First Cut

September 2010Low Price-to-Sales Ratio Stocks
Low price-to-sales ratios may identify undervalued firms sooner than price-earnings ratios.
July 2010Stocks With Low Risk/Reward Scores
Using Charles Rotblut’s risk/reward scoring system to find stocks.
June 2010Attractively Priced Dividend Growth
Identifying high-yield stocks with a record of dividend growth.
May 2010Tortoriello's Quantitative Strategies
Applying Richard Tortoriello's strategies to find investment candidates.
April 2010Socially Responsible Stocks
The 30 stocks most widely held by socially responsible mutual funds.
January 2010Consensus: Stocks That Pass the Most Screens
Stocks that passed the most screens.
December 2009Low P/E Stocks With Positive Earnings Surprises
A starting point for investors. This issue's focus is on stocks that have had a significant positive quarterly earnings surprise since September, and that sport a below-average forward price-earnings ratio.
November 2009Attractively Priced Share Buyback Stocks
A starting point for investors. This issue's focus is on finding stocks that have recently repurchased their shares, and have below-average price-to-book-value ratios.
October 2009Stocks on the Move With Price Momentum
A starting point for investors. This issue's focus is on finding stocks with improving relative strength percentage rankings, and the highest prices as a percentage of their 52-week highs.
September 2009Financially Stable Stocks With Low Prices
A starting point for investors. A recent study found that portfolios of low-priced stocks outperformed higher-priced stocks, and the excess performance was not explained by firm factors such as size or valuation. With that in mind, this issue's First Cut focuses on stocks that are selling at prices below $5 per share and that have indications of both long-term financial stability and financial strength.
August 2009Stocks With Possible "Hidden" Earnings
A starting point for investors. This issue's focus is on firms with possible "hidden" earnings, indicated by a record of positive free cash flow that is currently greater than earnings and that are trading with low price-to-free-cash-flow ratios.
July 2009Stocks With a Competitive Edge
A starting point for investors. This issue's focus is on firms with positive sales growth and above-average profit margins.
June 2009High Quality + High Yield + High Growth Stocks
A starting point for investors. This issue's focus is on Lowell Miller's strategy for investing in high-quality growth stocks with high and growing dividends.
May 2009Magic Formula Stocks
A starting point for investors. This issue's focus is on Joel Greenblatt's "Magic Formula" for picking stocks: high returns on capital, and a low price-to-enterprise valu
April 2009Benjamin Graham Bear Market Stocks
A starting point for investors. This issue's focus is on stocks with low prices relative to a firm's net current assets, a basic Benjamin Graham approach to finding stocks trading well below their instrinsic value.
February 2009The Outcasts: Stocks Removed From the S&P 500
A starting point for investors. This issue's focus is on stocks possibly neglected due to their removal from the S&P 500 index.
January 2009All-Star Stocks That Pass the Most Screens
A starting point for investors. This issue's focus is on finding companies that passed the most AAII Stock Screens.
January 2008Positive Surpries With Below-Average P/Es
A starting point for investors. This issue's focus is on stocks with below-average price-earnings ratios whose recent quarterly earnings reports surpassed the consensus forecast.