I just read the Vest Pocket Guide to Value Investing Winning & Practical Techniques for Portfolio Management & Individual Stock Selection by C. Thomas Howard.
I thought this book wasa little short and lacked some in-depth information. Some of the main points in the book include buying low P/E stocks (preferrably below 10), small firms (ex. smallest 20% of NYSE), and neglected stocks(low institutional holdings).
The author then goes over some basic information about economic analysis, industry analysis, then specific company analysis. His main focus is on company analysis(bottom up approach).
There were some interesting information in the book like why are the stock market returns double the growth of the economy and why 50% of price changes in the market are unexplained.
The author uses Value Line Investment Survey to help with his analysis of a company.
Overall, this book is average. It does not have enough meat in it to really help investors improve their analysis stocks. Much of the information in the book is general and would only help people who are not familiar with value investing.