Is it bargain hunting time for European stocks?

Europe's economic woes have brought down stock prices of all EU companies, regardless of the condition they are in. Given that, is it time to go contrarian and pick up a few good buys?

Even in the hardest hit economies - like Greece, Portugal and Spain - it's easy to find medium to large companies with solid fundamentals trading for below book value. Do a cursory screen of companies in those nations and even after excluding the ones in sectors likely to have the worst time of things -- consumer goods, finance, transportation, utilities, services -- you can find nearly 50 that are clearly worth more than what they are trading at. Include the rest of the EU and you've got an impressive list to look at.

So, should you strike while the euro is cold? Survey says: Maybe. It depends on your timeline and whether or not it will upset you that prices will likely go lower.

While no one is officially willing to say the EU is in a recession, even the most optimistic say its just a matter of time. "A recession could mean a further drop in stock prices of 15 to 20 percent," says Michael Farr, president of Farr, Miller & Washington, LLC. That and the fallout from other economic turmoil makes him think it's too early to go in.

Farr says the time to buy may be when unemployment rates go up. That means people who had dropped out of the "looking for work" category - either because they didn't think they were going to find any or because they were resigned to being underemployed - are getting back into the labor pool. They do that when things are starting to look better.

"Now is the time to be making your lists and checking them twice," he says. This is when you should be gathering a lot of information and finding the companies to keep an eye on to see how they weather troubles. Neither he or any one else suggests you should try to figure out when the market hits rock-bottom. That kind of guessing is best left to day-traders and people who like to buy lottery tickets.

On the other hand, prices are low and if you're an investor who is in it for the long haul why not buy now? That's the view of Bill Kornitzer, a co-manager of the Buffalo International Fund. "If it's a good investment today, than it's a good investment tomorrow," he says.

He agrees that anyone looking for a fast return has no business being in this market. However, he feels that if you are a long-term investor then "it's a great time to be looking for bargains, but that doesn't mean prices won't go down more."

Kornitzer believes in finding fundamentally solid companies with strong balance sheets and diversified sources of income and then sticking with them. If they happen to be selling cheap, so much the better.