Method - how do I find and investigate stocks?

Having come back to this blog two years after I started it, I realize that I made something of an error in not recording the tools and websites I used to find and then investigate these stock pics. This post aims to rectify that (now that I've started from scratch).

Stock Screener: Finding stocks
I use MSN Money's Deluxe Stock Screener - which is free, yet powerful.
"Find MSN’s screener from its homepage (moneycentral.msn.com) by selecting Investing and then Stock Screener. Once there, click on the Deluxe Stock Screener link to download the free screener program. Coincidentally, MSN’s screener only works with Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, it won’t work with Firefox or other non-Microsoft browsers." (Thanks to http://www.winninginvesting.com/stock_screeners.htm.)

Once installed, you can access the screener directly at: http://moneycentral.msn.com/investor/finder/customstocks.asp.

Filters
As described in my first post, I use filters on the P/E, forecast P/E, dividend yield, price/book value, and leverage (lack of) to find cheap shares, which I then investigate in more detail.

Further investigation
So this gives me a list of interesting looking stocks. What do I do next?

1. Pick one that looks interesting.
2. Click on the ticker symbol (a link from the results page on the screener) to pull up the company information. This brings up a page that looks like this: http://moneycentral.msn.com/companyreport?Symbol=PAC
3. Read about what the company does. The more straightforward the business (i.e. the easier for me to understand) the better.
4. I then click on the Financial Results link on the left hand menu, to get some more detail on the company's finances over the past couple of years. e.g. http://moneycentral.msn.com/investor/invsub/results/hilite.asp?Symbol=PAC
5. I then look at the quarterly revenue and earnings per share figures, to get an idea of the pattern, and to look out for anything unusual. Ideally I'm looking for a company that makes profit every quarter, and whose profit is growing year-by-year. If I see any startlingly unusual figures (e.g. there's a sudden spike (or drop) in profit this year) then I'll note that, and investigate further.
6. I'll then examine the financial statements for the past ten years. I prefer MorningStar to MSN for this: e.g. http://quicktake.morningstar.com/StockNet/Income10.aspx?Country=USA&Symbol=PAC.
My investment style is very conservative, so I'm looking for a company that has been consistently profitable (and ideally growing) over the past ten years, and where the total equity (i.e. value owned by share holders) has increased over time.
7. If everything still looks good, then I'll read the most recent quarterly earnings statement, or any earlier statements that are necessary to throw light on any oddities I've seen in the results. To find these I go to http://quote.morningstar.com/Quote/Quote.aspx?Ticker=PAC and then near the bottom of the screen there's a section entitled "Company Press Release" under "News, Alerts, and Opinions".

And that's it. Hopefully by now I've figured out whether or not I want to invest.

Disclaimer: I know nothing. This is not investment advice.