STOCK PICKS: Top 5 All-Around for Oct. 28

Each business day, TheStreet.com Ratings compiles a list of the top five stocks in one of five categories -- fast-growth, all-around value, large-cap, mid-cap and small-cap -- based on data from the close of the previous trading session. Today, all-around-value stocks are in the spotlight.

These are stocks of companies that meet a number of criteria, including annual revenue of more than $500 million, lower-than-average valuations such as a price-to-sales ratio of less than 2, and leverage that is less than 49% of total capital. In addition, they must rank near the top of all stocks rated by our proprietary quantitative model, which looks at more than 60 factors. The stocks must also be followed by at least one financial analyst who posts estimates on the Institutional Brokers' Estimate System. They are ordered by their potential to appreciate.

Note that no provision is made for off-balance-sheet assets such as unrealized appreciation/depreciation of investments, market value of real estate or contingent liabilities that might affect book value. This could be material for some companies with large, underfunded pension plans.

Hewlett-Packard(HPQ Quote) provides products, technologies, solutions and services to individual consumers and businesses worldwide. Our buy rating for Hewlett-Packard has not changed since November 2004, based on the company's impressive record of earnings per share growth, increases in net income and revenue, attractive valuation levels, and good cash flow from operations.

Hewlett-Packard's total revenue for the third quarter of fiscal 2008 grew 10.5% year over year, which allowed EPS to improve by 21.2% compared with a year ago. The company has, in fact, demonstrated a pattern of positive EPS growth over the past two years, and we feel that this trend should continue. Net income increased by 14%, rising from $1.8 billion in the third quarter of fiscal 2007 to $2.03 billion in the most recent quarter.