How do we find stocks to own?

   Obviously, we want to find the few most likely companies to increase in value. It follows that their price will stand the best chance of increasing. What are the characteristics of these companies?

   They must balance all; too little capital investment means lost opportunity. Too much means dragging debt cost. We search for that sweet spot that maximizes profit and reduces risk. This means analyzing the universe of U.S. listed stocks using 27 indicators. Although none are found perfect, we choose the best 20 to own to keep our investment in each under 5% of investment funds. If fewer than 20 are found, we keep the balance in cash, gold and silver, or the SPY and QQQ of their prices are increasing.

   Our analysis methods are based on Benjamin Graham, modified by Warren Buffett, and described by Robert Hagstrom. Lately, we have added the precepts of Mike Turner, who answers the questions of when to buy and when to sell.

   There are additional indicators, such as 30 years of increasing dividends, but we don't want to find we have no prospects! You can add your own, if you wish.

   Here are the indicators:
owner earnings growth
price discounted from value
market capital
price
long term debt to equity
cash flow operating
debt to net
price to earnings
earnings per share
estimated percent of growth in the next 5 years
dividend yield percent
total debt
net profit
sales
book value
cash
number of shares
current ratio
total assets
goodwill
current assets
current liabilities
long term debt
total liabilities
total equity
growth in the last 5 years

see stocks with all indicators

   Here are some additional analyses we don't need to use:
some profit
profit increasing every year for 5 years
market cap over 2 billion
sales above a certain amount
PE less than 25
book value greater than half of capitalization
price less than 1.2 times book value
cap less than 1.2 times (current assets - current liabilities)
20 years of dividends
price less than 1.5 times (sales divided by book value)
price less than book value
cash flow greater than 0
current assets greater than total debt
(current assets - total liability) / (number of shares times 1.5) is greater than price
dividend yield greater than 2
sales increase each quarter