For that, look at earnings per share. And these are just starting points. You should be thoroughly familiar with the company and its fundamentals before you invest. In most cases, that's because the company has stumbled recently. You have to figure out why the company's price might rise.
Different managers use different techniques.
John Rogers, manager of the Ariel Fund, looks for stocks that are simply out of favor and should rebound. So Rogers figures it's been punished enough. Erin Piner, manager of PBHG Limited Fund, looks for stocks with strong growth in earnings or sales. So many of them are historically cheap. More time and effort Cheap or not, investing in individual stocks takes more time and effort than investing in mutual funds.