Dream Stocks for Value Investors

Investors are always hunting for the next big stock -- the dream stock whose price increases several times over when the market finally discovers it. It's easy to look back and discover the 10 best stocks of the past decade. But I'm more interested in the tools that can help me evaluate tomorrow's greatest companies. 

Motley Fool CAPS offers a variety of resources to aid Fools in finding tomorrow's leaders. Our 145,000-member community is full of investors helping each other beat the market. 

We'll enlist CAPS to screen for strong yet undervalued companies, then get the story behind some of its more highly rated stocks. CAPS' nifty screener will help us find stocks with:

• A market cap of at least $1 billion.
• A long term debt-to-equity ratio of less than 0.5.
• A current ratio of at least 1.
• A price-to-earnings ratio of less than 15.

Then we'll tap the collective intelligence of our CAPS members to see whether these companies present real opportunities -- or whether the numbers fail to tell the true story.

Opinions with the numbers
Below is a sample of stocks our screen returned:

Data and star rankings from CAPS as of Jan. 29.

Corning
The LCD TV market has regained some of its strength lately, after suffering a blow from the recession. As the world's largest maker of LCD glass, Corning has been reaping the benefits. It recently reported a knockout fourth quarter, with earnings that nearly tripled from last year's levels. Retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores, Best Buy (NYSE: BBY), and Sears Holdings (Nasdaq: SHLD) are running deals on flatscreen TVs to boost post-holiday sales, and research firm iSuppli expects strong growth in the global LCD market to continue this year. Many CAPS members have a positive long-term outlook for Corning, viewing the recent dip in share price as a great opportunity to cash in. 

In total, 97% of the 3,347 CAPS members rating Corning expect it to beat the broader market average.  

Western Digital
Although Western Digital's shares have made big gains in the past year, many CAPS members still see value in the stock, especially in light of recent signs of improvement in technology spending. Like peer Seagate Technology's (Nasdaq: STX) smashing quarter, Western Digital recently announced a solid quarterly report, thanks to growing demand in storage that helped it blow past Wall Street's expectations. Demand for Western Digital's products has rebounded in the commercial sector, and especially among consumers. 

With further such improvements expected, many investors like the outlook for Western Digital; 94% of the 992 CAPS members rating the company are bullish today.

CVS Caremark
Drugstore retailer and pharmacy benefit manager CVS Caremark has recently moved to strengthen its pharmacy benefits management division, after announcing its loss of several billion dollars in contracts in November. The company has brought in a new president for the division, and it's focused on booking new business and client retention, like the $1 billion contract extension it recently won with a Texas pension fund. Many investors like the strength of CVS' brand over competitors such as Walgreen and Rite Aid (NYSE: RAD). They also appreciate the company's confidence in its future, and its decision to ratchet up its dividend. 

In CAPS, 96% of the 1,590 members rating CVS Caremark believe it's a market-beating investment.

Let 145,000 members be the jury
The collective wisdom of a huge pool of investors can help give context to a page of numbers from a stock screen. But individual investors remain the best judges of what to do with their own money. Fools should always perform their own due diligence.

Happily, it's easy to chime in with your own opinion. If you agree that these companies present dream opportunities -- or see more of a nightmare instead -- simply scroll down and add your thoughts in the comments box.