Jonathan Liss

35 Stocks That Ben Graham Would Like Here

Nice piece. I have to question your changes to Graham's methodology. Why push price-to-book up to 1.5 from 1.2? Most of these stocks would still show up with the 1.2 p/b ratio intact. I also question your change to length of earnings growth and use of EPS in general - with all the stock buybacks of late, EPS growth of 3% a year would indicate declining earnings in many cases. P/# below 15 - why? P/E is really a more industry specific gauge of value than a universal one. And the 1% dividend seems a bit weak in light of fallen stock prices, no?

I think Graham's and Buffett's whole point was that you'll never get 35 stocks on a true value list. True values are few and far between and on occasion, non-existent.