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Big Tech is stuffed with cash and trading at a significant discount to the broad market. That's a sign of investor pessimism, and earnings for the group might indeed be due for a dip, but a handful of companies are too cheap to ignore. Some even pay respectable dividends.

Among U.S. technology firms with stock market values over $5 billion, the median sells for 14 times projected earnings for its current fiscal year. That's in line with the market's historic average and a smidgen below the median price of 15 times projected earnings for all firms worth more than $5 billion, not just technology companies. Adjust company values for the amount of net cash they hold (cash and short-term investments minus debt and similar obligations) and big tech falls to 13 times earnings while big everything rises to 17 times earnings.

That's a significant reversal for the sector. Over the past two decades, tech has traded on average at a 30% premium to the broad market based on earnings, according to Bernstein Research.

Perhaps investors view current technology profits as unsustainably rich. Corporate profits in general are near record levels and technology firms are more profitable than most companies. Over the past year the median big tech firm turned 19 cents of each sales dollar into operating profit, versus 15 cents for the broader S&P 500 index. There are signs the economy is slowing again: crude oil and house prices are slowing, consumer spending looks weak and jobless claims recently increased. And even though technology is more or a staple than it used to be, recent earnings for the group have been more volatile than those for other sectors besides financials, basic materials and telecom.

The three companies below, however, have been stable earners in recent years, and their price-to--earnings ratios, adjusted for cash levels, are in single digits.

Dell

P/E: 8.5
P/E, adjusted for net cash: 6.3

Dell (DELL) shares are selling for their 1998 price, even though the company generates five times as much in sales today and has only three-quarters as many shares. Its build-to-order computers were hot sellers when consumers were buying giant desktop machines. When preferences shifted to notebooks, customers grew keen on buying in stores, and rivals like Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) with plenty of retail partnerships took market share. Now tablets are catching on, and Dell has yet to produce a hit in the category. Nonetheless, the company's margins are improving as it simplifies its configuration options and builds more machines ahead of time, and sales of servers are growing nicely. A top performer, Dell isn't, but it's priced like a company in deep trouble, and the reality is that sales and profits are growing and the company holds enough cash to buy one-quarter of its shares.

Microsoft

P/E: 9.4
P/E, adjusted for net cash: 7.7

Microsoft (MSFT) sells for more than 200 times its mid-1980s price, but the stock has lost value for more than a decade. The company's rise was linked to its near-monopoly in key personal computer software in an age where most programs were installed locally. Today, consumers are increasingly using mobile devices to access online content and programs, and Microsoft isn't nearly as dominant in mobile computing. It's hardly struggling, however. The company has bigger operating margins than Apple (AAPL) (owed to minimal manufacturing and retail costs). All that's needed now is for management to turn Microsoft's massive cash flow into growth. Its Xbox video game consoles have thus far proved more popular than profitable, and the company's recent agreement to buy Skype for $8.5 billion drew little applause on Wall Street. But Microsoft sells for a song and offers something to make up for its stodginess: a dividend yield of 2.6%.

Analog Devices

P/E: 12.8
P/E, adjusted for net cash: 9.9

If "analog" sounds old-fashioned it's only because analog recordings like records and tapes gave way to digital ones like compact discs and computer files. The world still runs on analog chips, which describe those that interact with real phenomena, like light, sound and temperature. Analog Devices (ADI) makes chips used in consumer devices, factory equipment, medical machines and much more. Analysts say its best growth prospects at the moment are in cars, which come with ever more computerized content, like rear-view cameras, and communications, where soaring demand for bandwidth is driving sales of analog chips. The company has decreased its share count by one-quarter over the past five years. It holds nearly enough cash to buy back another one-quarter tomorrow. Sales and profits are growing and the stock pays a 2.7% dividend yield.