Of all the insight I've heard over this past year, the most telling came from an investor who appeared on CNBC 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. AIG (NYSE: AIG), Citigroup (NYSE: C) -- those kind of companies come to mind. 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 145,000-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)

Southern (NYSE: SO)

$31.61

13.01

4.56%

11.38%

5.5%

****

General Dynamics (NYSE: GD)

$67.08

10.29

7.8%

20.28%

2.3%

****

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY)

$25.38

11.59

4.99%

27.57% Continued...