Merger & acquisition activity has been strong so far in 2013, and in his latest Forbes.com column Validea CEO John Reese looks at a number of solid retail stocks that may be ripe for a buyout.

“It’s hard to predict future deals, of course, but there are signs you can look for,” writes Reese. “One is using the ‘net current asset value’ test that the late, great Benjamin Graham — known as the ‘Father of Value Investing’ — used in analyzing stocks. … The [figure] can give you an idea of what someone might be willing to pay for the business.”

Reese screened for stocks that are trading on the cheap compared to their net current asset values, and cross-referenced the list with stocks approved by his “Guru Strategies” — investment models based on the approaches of Graham and other greats. He found a number of retailers were high on the list. Among them: Shoe Carnival, which gets strong interest from his Peter Lynch-based model.