Who's the Healthiest Retailer?

In a recent survey by Consensus Advisors, Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN  ) topped the list as the "financially healthiest" retailer for the second year in a row.

I can see why. Amazon has an amazing store of cash and no debt. It's the go-to online retailer for many consumers, whether they're interested in books, music, beauty products, garden tools, or whatever their whims. Amazon has it all, plus a great history of innovating along with changing times.

Consumer Advisors' list dug into 160 retailers, gauging such factors as asset utilization, pricing power, balance sheet, and growth. Here are the rest of the top 10 retailers, behind Amazon:

• Aeropostale
• Urban Outfitters
• CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS  )
• Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT  )
• Bed Bath & Beyond (NYSE: BBBY  )
• Coach (NYSE: COH  )
• Buckle
• Guess?
• lululemon athletica (Nasdaq: LULU  ) .

These days, you really have to search for healthy retail stocks, especially when so many suffering retailers have seen major rallies in their stock prices, leaving them terribly overvalued.

Lists like this one are a great way for retail investors to populate their own watch lists. Still, don't forget to ask the right questions while conducting your own research and weighing your buying decisions. Stocks like Urban Outfitters, Aeropostale, and Buckle are among my own personal favorites, because they have proved themselves well-run, consistently on trend, and debt-free for years on end.

However, Lululemon's nosebleed price-to-earnings ratio of 52 gives me serious pause, as does the question of how long its high-priced, specialty duds for yoga will remain fashionable. I'm also not too sure about Bed Bath & Beyond, given formidable competition in its space, including big, ubiquitous discounters like Wal-Mart. I don't believe Bed Bath & Beyond's brand is strong or compelling enough, although the company does have a reassuring $1.5 billion cash stash and no debt.

What do you think of these choices? What retailer would you call the healthiest -- or the least healthy? Discuss your own retail-stock shopping list in the comments box below.