(FORTUNE Magazine) – The father of value investing, Benjamin Graham, wasn't satisfied with buying low. He bought extremely low. For our screen, we were faithful to Graham's strict guidelines. For example, we insisted that each stock's P/E ratio be no more than 15 times its average earnings over the past three years. We also required ten years of positive earnings and per-share earnings growth of at least 3% a year over that time. To ensure financial stability, Graham required uninterrupted dividend payments for 20 years; we shortened that to ten years, the maximum allowed by any of our screening programs. And we stuck with Graham's rule that current assets should be at least twice current liabilities, producing a "current ratio" of 2 or better. --D.S.

Our Picks

June 24, 2005. Based on average three-year reported earnings.

FORTUNE TABLE / SOURCE: VALUE LINE