The vast technology landscape is in a state of flux, with new ideas coming to the fore and fresh challenges looming on the horizon.

The sector remains one of the best ways to generate long-term wealth.

Cisco Systems (CSCO) - Get Report  and Intel (INTC) - Get Report  are two undervalued opportunities that could bring big gains for those who buy shares while they are cheap.

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Brimming with cash flow, rock-solid balance sheets and good earnings prospects, Cisco Systems and Intel are safe bets on market-beating growth.

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For those who have ever wondered what exactly constitutes a safe stock, here is a handy checklist.

1. The business generates a minimum of $40 billion in annual sales, on a trailing 12-month basis.

2. The company has at least $10 billion in net income on a trailing 12-month basis.

3. Debt is less than 20% of market value.

4. The stock has price-earnings-growth ratio of less than 1.5.

5. Return on assets is more than 5% and return on equity is at least or more than 15%.

6. The company has three-year average free cash flow of $10 billion or more.

7. The company has a yield of about and a payout ratio of less than 50%.

And the winners are:

From the tech hardware segment, Apple and IBM emerge as major contenders using rules No. 1 and 2.

In the computer networking segment, it is only Cisco Systems. In the Internet services and social-media industry, it is Google owner Alphabet.

Facebook doesn't make the cut. Amazon also doesn't qualify because though it makes $110 billion-plus annually in revenue, the tech company doesn't meet the net income criteria.

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In the semiconductor industry, Intel is the only name that comes up. In the software and programming space, it is just Microsoft.

Next, let's look at companies that are left after applying rule No. 3. Although Apple stays, IBM is out because its more than $45 billion debt is nearly 30% of its market capitalization of $153 billion. Alphabet, Cisco Systems, Intel and Microsoft are safely through.

As mentioned, a safe stock must have a PEG ratio of less than 1.5. We use the five-year expected PEG ratio, which helps determine the relative trade-off between the price of the stock, the earnings generated per share and the company's expected five-year growth.

Cisco Systems has a ratio of 1.23, followed by Alphabet (1.30), Apple (1.3) and Intel (1.46). Microsoft leaves the pack because of its PEG ratio of 2.30.

Our rule No. 5 helps us narrow down the contenders with solid profitability ratios.

Alphabet is out because though it has a ROA of 8.9%-plus, its ROE of 14.69% is a tad below the minimum threshold of 15%. Apple, Cisco Systems and Intel are the only tech stocks left.

Rule No. 6 is easy for these solid tech stocks, with all three making the cut again.

The final rule is about dividends.

A 3% dividend yield ensures that even if the stock languishes, an investor receives a stable dividend return. The payout ratio of less than 50% guarantees the safety of the dividends.

Apple qualifies for the safety aspect, but its dividend yield is about 2.2%.

That leaves Cisco Systems (3.48% yield) and Intel (2.97% yield). Both these undervalued gems also have less than 50% payout ratios.

And so the verdict is, networking giant Cisco Systems and semiconductor king Intel represent the very best of the tech segment: double-digit earnings growth and also safe dividends.

And yet, both remain undervalued. Buy them now, before the rest of the investment herd catches on.

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This article is commentary by an independent contributor. At the time of publication, the author held no positions in the stocks mentioned.