Of all insight I've heard over these few crazy months, the most telling came from an investor who appeared on CNBC last fall and, being entirely serious, advised, "There're only two positions to be in right now: cash, and fetal."

I get it. Even with the recent rally, the economy remains wrapped in failure. Big failure. Many companies that overleveraged their balance sheets are permanently impaired and will never fully rebound. We had an unprecedented boom; now we're crawling out of an unprecedented bust. That's how markets work.

Even so,  history tells us time and time again that the good gets out with the bad in times like these. Using the wisdom of our 140,000-member-strong CAPScommunity, I've hunted down a few dirt cheap, high-quality companies. Have a look:

Company

Recent Share Price

Forward P/E Ratio

5-Year

Expected Growth Rate

TTM Return on Equity

Dividend Yield

CAPS Rating   
(out of 5)

Berkshire Hathaway
(NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B)

$101,530

18.62

5%

2.52%

N/A

*****

Verizon
(NYSE: VZ)

$29.10

11.64

4.65%

11.77%

6.5%

****

Consolidated Edison
(NYSE: ED)

$40.95

12.41 Continued...