The best stocks according to the most gurus

WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?

Today is the final instalment of our series of columns on the Nasdaq Guru Screener (nasdaq.com/reference/guru.stm), a free online screening tool that generates lists of U.S. stocks that most closely match the investing strategies of some of the U.S. investment community's most influential and popular authors and commentators.

Having spent the past two weeks looking at the screener tool's results for the various gurus, we conclude by looking at another stock screen that Nasdaq provides that might appeal to investors who simply can't decide which guru to follow.

'FUNDAMENTALLY SOUND' STOCKS

The Guru Screener includes a tool that will look for stocks that receive either high or at least passing grades from multiple guru screens. This not only provides a resource for investors who would prefer to hedge their bets by looking at more than one strategy, but it also reveals companies that display strength over a broad range of investing metrics. In short, these are, by many criteria, "fundamentally sound stocks" - which is, in fact, exactly the label Nasdaq puts on this stock screen.

WHAT DID WE FIND?

So, can there really be stocks that look like can't-miss prospects no matter whose strategy you adopt? The short answer is, no.

There isn't a single U.S.-exchange-traded stock that produces a winning score with any more than five of the eight guru strategies tracked by the Nasdaq Guru Screener. But two stocks - Brazilian electric utility Companhia Paranaense de Energia (Copel) and energy multinational Exxon Mobil Corp. - pass muster with five gurus, while Peruvian banking holding company Credicorp Ltd. receives high ranking from four guru screens.

Looking at the common traits of these top three names provides some insight into what qualities many gurus look for in stocks, regardless of their methods for identifying these qualities. They're stable, well-established companies with a strong track record of above-average earnings growth and stock performance, that appear undervalued by the market, especially relative to their growth potential. The lesson? It's rarely a bad thing to find strong, growing companies that are trading cheaply.

Nasdaq Guru Screener - Fundamentally Sound Stocks

SOURCE: WWW.NASDAQ.COM