Questions - Screening for Stocks

Friends,

I've been receiving quite a few questions regarding income producing stocks. For some time now I've been recommending DRIPs, Dividend Reinvestment Plans. They are a powerful savings tool and often provide a way for small investors to capture good companies at reasonable prices. I've discussed them in detail before, so I'll skip the lecture and just answer any questions you have on DRIP's by email. However, I will say that my position is shifting. Based on changes in fee structures, I do not think that DRIP's are as strong an option as they were even a year or two ago.

So, instead I am using a service called ShareBuilder (a subsidiary of ING) to purchase companies I plan to hold for the long term. I have the dividends put into an attached money market account. So far, I like their service and pricing.

But, how do I find good stocks like PCU, LRY, etc. before they appreciate and make the news?
I use a stock screener. Here is a link to Yahoo Finance/ Stock Screener Stock Screener. This is a nice starting point for looking for investments. I am only interested in low cost (low P/E), high yield (dividend / share price) stocks with excellent balance sheets. YOU CAN NOT PICK GUARANTEED WINNERS. All that you can do is tilt the odds in your favor. A company's expected future earnings are usually priced in to the current share price by the market. I have found that economic strength in the present is undervalued. So, I buy strength at a value price and wait for the dividends to come in and the price to go up. On any individual stock I might get unlucky, but at least the odds are in my favor.

Enjoy,
Joe

PS I recently acquired more LRY Liberty Property Trust. They had a P/E under 15 and a yield above 8%. Their balance sheet is strong, so it was an easy buy.