Choosing Stocks—The Beardstown Ladies' Approach

(abridged from ch. 13, pp. 105ƒƒ)

	Criterion	Brief Description	Info Source	Miscellaneous Notes
1	Industry Ranking	Top third of industry, preferably among the top 25	VL
2	Timeliness	Rating = 1 or 2	VL	1 = most timely, 3 = average
3	Safety	Rating = 1 or 2	VL	1 = very safe, 3 = average
4	Debt	Total debt ≤ one-third of total assets	VL, S&P, AR
5	Beta	0.90 ≤ b ≤ 1.10	VL, S&P	relative volatility measure
6	Sales/Earnings	5 yrs solid growth; double-digit projected growth	VL	small co 12-15%; med 10-12%; lg 7-10%
7	Price	≤ $25.00/share	Multiple	even lots
8	P/E Ratio	≤ average p/e for each of 5 years back	VL	; the lower the better
9	Upside-Down Ratio	3-to-1 potential upside	VL	; higher = better
10	Management	solid track record— see media, annual reports, etc.	VL, other
>	Personal Preferences	products, labor relations, initial offerings	Vl, other

*VL = Value Line; S&P = Standard & Poor's; AR = Annual Report