For savvy investors, the recent economic turmoil has put a variety of stocks on sale. One local example worth looking at is Qwest, which has fallen from a 52-week high of $10.45 to less than $5 a share. The interesting statistic: Shares of the Denver-based telephone giant are trading at just 3.03 times earnings for the trailing 12 months. To put that in perspective, the industry average is 12 times earnings. 

To be sure, Qwest has its problems, including an eroding land-line business and the lack of its own cell phone service (the company currently resells Sprint and recent media reports suggest Qwest is talking about a similar deal with AT&T). But with steady cash flow, an improved balance sheet and a market value of just $8 billion, it would not be a stretch for a larger telecom, such as cash-rich Verizon, to purchase Qwest. Such a scenario would likely produce job cuts in part of Qwest’s 14-state territory. Then again, it would also reward shareholders with a hefty premium compared to where the stock is currently trading at.