AAII's Guide to Top Web Sites
| Stock Screening |
| A popular approach to stock research is using stock screens. This method involves running quantitative filters through a universe of stocks to find candidates that are promising and warrant further analysis. The stocks that pass a screen will meet the criteria used to create the screen. Investors seek various characteristics in stocks, but the quintessential qualities of high growth and low valuation are popular criteria. Using stock screens, you are able to focus on a small selection of stocks that meet your preferred characteristics. The top stock screening sites provide an abundance of data fields. Superior sites provide filters for stock sector, stock type, performance, growth and valuation and cover an exhaustive universe. However, you should be prepared to pay for the top screening services. |
 CNBC.com |
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www.cnbc.com
FREE
Where to Find:
Hover your mouse over the Investing tab and click on Stock Screener.
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One of best free stock screeners. Offers filters for nine data categories, including company overview, performance, growth trends, valuation, management efficiency and dividends, with over 12,000 companies provided in the universe. Additional variables are offered within each category. After selecting data fields and entering appropriate values, the stock screener shows the number of company matches so that you can change the field values in order to allow for more or fewer companies to pass the screen. Three views are presented for passing companies: overview, performance and earnings. Clicking on a passing company links you to a page illustrating relevant fundamental stock data. Five predefined screens are provided, and custom screens can be saved.
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| Morningstar.com |
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www.morningstar.com
FREE-$185/yr. (free 14-day trial)
Where to Find:
Click on Stocks at the top of the page, and then click Stock Screener at the bottom left under Tools.
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The free stock screener allows you to filter by stock basics, Morningstar stock grades, company performance, stock performance and valuation. Stock basics include sector (such as health care and telecom), type (such as aggressive growth and cyclical), equity style box (such as large-cap growth and small-cap value) and market capitalization size. Morningstar stock grades provide a growth grade, profitability grade and financial health grade. Stock performance allows you to choose year-to-date, one-month, three-month, one-year and five-year performance periods, and valuation allows you to choose trailing price-earnings ratio, price-earnings-to-earnings-growth (PEG) ratio and dividend yield values. The screener allows you to "score" the results based on the importance of criteria. For instance, users can choose a high growth rate as the most important characteristic, and Morningstar will rank the passing companies accordingly. The fee-based Premium screener has 440 data fields for screening and allows you to run more thorough screens. The Premium stock screener also offers nine built-in screens. The premium screener is a better choice for those who use stock screens often for investment research; the free screener simply does not offer enough data fields.
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| SmartMoney.com (fee-based) |
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www.smartmoney.com
$58/yr. (free 14-day trial)
Where to Find:
Click on Tools, and then choose click Stock Screener (subscription required).
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Java-based screener provides a universe of over 4,500 stocks (down from over 7,700 last year). After logging in, a drop-down menu lists the variables. Screener allows you to choose conditions and values, such as greater than, less than, top % in sector and between numbers that you specify. For each screening criterion, the site provides averages and a description. Screens can be saved so you can track them over a period of time. Twenty-four built-in stock screens are available. The screener offers 140 variable choices and users can also create their own screening variables. Results can be exported into a spreadsheet. The only downside is that the company reports are not as detailed as those at other websites.
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| Zacks.com |
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www.zacks.com
FREE-$199/year
Where to Find:
At beta site, hover over Screening and click on Stock Screener.
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Allows screening on almost 8,000 companies. Data points on which to screen are broken down into categories including size and share volume, price and price changes, broker ratings and changes, valuations, and income statement and balance sheet items, along with other categories. Subscribers to Zacks premium can screen based on Zacks Rank and Recommendations. Also allows screening based on earnings surprises and estimates, along with earnings revisions. One of the more powerful free stock screeners.
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