50 Best Small Cap Stock Picks for 2012

by on December 26, 2011

Small cap stocks have traditionally outperformed all other asset classes. Small cap value is the best performing asset class over the years. There is also evidence that small cap value stocks lead the market when coming out of recessions. As we look forward to improving economy in 2012, it is important that we keep an healthy allocation to small cap value stocks in our portfolio.

Here at Value Stock Guide, we generally tend to favor small cap stock picks. This screen below is a shortlist of some of the best values in the small caps I see in the stock market right now. You may want to download the Excel sheet attached to this post and do your own due diligence as small caps generally carry greater company risk than other asset classes. These stocks have been picked for reasonable Price to Earnings, Price to Book Value, Earnings Growth and PEG ratios. Still, it is important to dig deeper in the financials to understand the capital structure and other key operating indicators.

Be sure to read the other value screens in this series. They are accessible from links on the right at the beginning of this post.

Symbol Company Name Market Cap P/E Last Year Actual Price/Book PEG
AFOP ALLIANCE FIBER OPTIC PRODUCTS INC $70.6M 10.7 1.13 0.44
AOSL ALPHA AND OMEGA SEMICONDUCTOR LTD $187.7M 5 0.72 0.11
BBOX BLACK BOX CORP $509.4M 8.8 0.66 0.91
BOFI BOFI HOLDING INC $182.3M 8.6 1.1 0.49
CAP CAI INTERNATIONAL INC $302.5M 11 1.39 0.63
MOC COMMAND SECURITY CORP $14.8M 9.1 0.76 0.34
COT COTT CORP $618.1M 9.7 1.08 0.94
DMND DIAMOND FOODS INC $626.7M 11.4 1.38 0.52
DGIT DIGITAL GENERATION INC $329.9M 7.2 0.66 0.27
DM DOLAN CO (THE) $272.7M 8.3 0.93 0.52
EEI ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT INC. $67.9M 9.7 1.33 0.76
EFC ELLINGTON FINANCIAL LLC $282.8M 5.6 0.75 0.1
ECPG ENCORE CAPITAL GROUP INC $527.5M 10.8 1.49 0.4
FISI FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS INC $231.6M 10.5 1.04 0.84
FRF FORTEGRA FINANCIAL CORP $137.2M 7.1 1.05 0.33
GIII G III APPAREL GROUP LTD $498.9M 8.6 1.42 0.4
GTN GRAY TELEVISION INC. $87.9M 10.8 0.78 0.04
HCKT HACKETT GROUP INC (THE) $153.5M 14.1 1.26 0.63
IEC IEC ELECTRONICS CORP $49.1M 8.8 1.46 0.25
ISSI INTEGRATED SILICON SOLUTION INC $255.6M 8.1 1.09 0.25
FSTR L.B. FOSTER COMPANY $291.7M 14.6 1.1 0.63
LGL LGL GROUP INC (THE) $18.4M 1.7 0.71 0.79
MTRN MATERION CORP $508.3M 10.6 1.19 0.97
MTRX MATRIX SERVICE CO $247.6M 13.4 1.25 0.42
MIG MEADOWBROOK INSURANCE GROUP INC $539.1M 9.9 0.93 0.48
BKR MICHAEL BAKER CORP $181.6M 11.6 0.84 0.32
MNRK MONARCH FINANCIAL HOLDINGS INC $46.2M 10.4 0.65 0.71
MPAA MOTORCAR PARTS OF AMERICA INC $92.0M 6.8 0.77 0.12
NEI NETWORK ENGINES INC $42.8M 5 0.47 0.2
TNDM NEUTRAL TANDEM INC $336.1M 11 1.19 0.89
OMN OMNOVA SOLUTIONS INC. $211.6M 5.2 1.44 0.31
OPLK OPLINK COMMUNICATIONS INC $319.9M 9.9 1.15 0.39
PKBK PARKE BANCORP INC $25.9M 4.1 0.43 0.48
PCCC PC CONNECTION INC $301.6M 13.3 1.09 0.76
MALL PC MALL INC $71.8M 9.8 0.65 0.18
RICK RICK’S CABARET INTERNATIONAL INC $85.2M 8.7 1.12 0.46
STBZ STATE BANK FINANCIAL CORP $473.9M 10.8 1.22 0.56
SYX SYSTEMAX INC. $609.9M 14 1.39 0.67
TGB TASEKO MINES LTD $511.8M 7.2 1.07 0.16
GTS TRIPLE-S MANAGEMENT CORP $588.9M 9.9 0.87 0.4
TPC TUTOR PERINI CORP $610.5M 6.1 0.44 0.3
UFI UNIFI INC. $144.2M 5.6 0.51 0.06
UEIC UNIVERSAL ELECTRONICS INC $248.5M 13.4 1.1 0.85
VIAS VIASYSTEMS GROUP INC $342.4M 11.3 1.26 0.22
VOXX VOXX INTERNATIONAL CORP $198.0M 8 0.49 0.38
VSEC VSE CORP $121.5M 5 0.88 0.24
WRES WARREN RESOURCES INC $223.9M 10.1 1.3 0.52
WBCO WASHINGTON BANKING CO $183.4M 7.8 1.1 0.92
WSTL WESTELL TECHNOLOGIES INC $153.6M 9.8 0.87 0.56
XRTX XYRATEX LTD $404.7M 3.3 1.13 0.39

 

The Value Stock Guide Premium Portfolio does own a few names in this list. It is expected that some of the stocks in this list will pass my further filters and make it to the VSG Watch List (available to our free email subscribers). A smaller number might be attractive enough to be rated as a Buy for our members. Deeper due diligence report is published for all the Buy recommended stocks inside the member’s area, so if you are interested you may want to sign up.

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Related posts from Value Stock Guide:

  1. 21 Best Investments in Mid Cap Stocks for 2012
  2. 31 Best Large Cap Stocks to Buy for 2012
  3. 32 Best Dividend Stocks for 2012

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