Here's a deep value screen I run from time to time. It's been lighting up recently, for whatever reason--many more results than normal.
It uses the following criteria:
Current P/E less than 10, Forward P/E less than current P/E, Debt/Equity Ratio less than 1, Quick (Acid Test) ratio greater than 1.
This is not a screen for quality by any stretch (although I'll run some of those later on). The idea is to find very inexpensive companies that are not crushed by debt and are liquid enough to stay afloat long enough for that value to be recognized.
If you're interested in getting quality as well, you'll want to screen for return on equity or invested capital. But you're going to have to make some substantial concessions on price.
These are not exactly Ben Graham's net-nets (which would sell at a 33% discount to net current assets), but it's roughly the same idea. These are "cigar butts," as Buffett would put it, generally good for one puff.
(Scroll way down) . . .
| Symbol | Company Name | Current P/E | Forward P/E | Quick Ratio |
| IMMR | Immersion Corp | 3.60 | 3.50 | 9.50 |
| ASPV | Aspreva Pharmaceuticals Corp | 5.70 | 4.80 | 10.10 |
| HSOA | Home Solutions Of America Inc | 6.00 | 5.00 | 2.70 |
| AVCI | Avici Systems Inc | 6.20 | 3.00 | 3.80 |
| MTEX | Mannatech, Inc | 6.80 | 5.10 | 1.10 |
| VLO | Valero Energy Ord Shs | 7.20 | 7.20 | 1.00 |
| TX | Ternium SA | 7.30 | 7.00 | 1.10 |
| GNA | Gerdau AmeriSteel Corp | 7.80 | 7.10 | 1.80 |
| CPX | Complete Production Services Inc | 8.50 | 8.00 | 2.50 |
| BRLC | Syntax-Brillian Corp | 8.70 | 6.10 | 2.00 |
| SIM | Grupo Simec ADR | 8.90 | 6.80 | 2.80 |
| ZINC | Horsehead Holding Ord Shs | 8.90 | 7.90 | 1.50 |
| ESV | ENSCO International Inc | 9.20 | 8.10 | 2.60 |
| MTL | Mechel ADR Rep 3 Ord Shs | 9.20 | 7.90 | 1.40 |
| VIRC | Virco Manufacturing Corp | 9.20 | 8.60 | 1.20 |
| KG | King Pharmaceuticals Inc | 9.40 | 6.50 | 3.20 |
| LMC | Lundin Mining Ord Shs | 9.40 | 8.30 | 2.90 |
| ZEUS | Olympic Steel Inc | 9.80 | 9.70 | 1.30 |
Bear with me on the screwy formatting. If any of you are HTML-inclined and have some thoughts on good ways to present tables, drop me a line at gnomeofzurich1@gmail.com.
Next, I'll give these a closer look and we can see if anything decent turns up.
