Stock screeners are automated tools that allow investors to screen stocks by user defined or preset criteria. There are thousands of stocks out there, and it is essentially impossible for investors to keep track of all of them. Using automated tools to hone in on stocks that you might want to invest in, however, can make it more manageable.
Trying to sort through stocks by hand can be time consuming. Fact is, most investors know roughly what they are looking for in terms of investments. Whether that’s a company within a specific industry, or a company with a certain amount in the bank, or a profit margin of a certain percent, a stock screener can help you find the best stocks.
By using a stock screener, you can trim down the list from thousands of potential stocks, to just a handful. This way, you can focus on finding the investment opportunities that are right for you without having to waste a lot of time sifting through stocks you’re not interested in. Remember, time is money, so stock screeners are very useful. This is especially true given how fast markets tend to move.
Best of all, many stock screeners are actually free! So there’s no excuse for investors not to utilize stock screeners. Even if your current stock broker and investment news website lacks a stock screener, you’ll be able to hunt one down. Wondering where you can find a free screener? Keep on reading!
Reliable and Free Stock Screeners
There are many popular screeners out there. Yahoo stock screener, Google stock screener, Zack’s stock screener, Finviz stock screener, and many more are very popular. There are many options, and most of them are quite powerful and effective. Of course, not every stock screener is created equal, but the ones we just mentioned are quite good.
Best of all, many stock screeners are free. A free stock screener can still be very powerful and reliable, so don’t fear the free price tag. For example, the Yahoo finance stock screener is free, easy to access and use, and is very reliable and powerful. The same can be said of numerous other stock screeners.
Compared to other finance tools, stock screeners are relatively easy to design and build. Of course, it’d be hard for the average Joe to build one, but for professional programmers and others familiar with building these tools, it’s pretty straight forward. That is why many companies are able to offer them for free.
Basically, a stock screener will sort stocks by a variety of factors. This might include debt levels, profit margins, industries, revenue growth, money spent on research and development, and numerous other factors.
Finding the Best Stock Screeners
So what’s the best stock screener? Honestly, there is no easy answer, and there are many great screeners you can use to sort your stocks. The screeners offered by most reputable companies, such as the Yahoo stock screener, are going to work quite well.
That being said, a few popular and well regarded stock screeners include the Zacks Stock Screener. Zacks is a great online website for stock investing resources. The Finviz Stock Screener is also a powerful screener that features over 60 different metrics. The Google Finance Stock Screener is very powerful. This should come as no surprise given how big Google itself is. And, of course, there is the already mentioned yahoo finance stock screener. Uncle Stock and Motley Fool are few other options that are quite popular.
Picking which stock screener to choose can be a bit tricky. There are so many options, and so many free options, that you should play around and find the stock screener you like. You should also check with your broker to see if they have a stock screener or another similar tool.
When it comes to stock screeners, you should pay attention to the variety of metrics used, how up to date the data is, and how accurate the data is. Also, spend time with the user interface. This UI is going to be essential for you because it’s how you are going to interact with your screener on a daily basis.
Since many stock screeners are free, it is easy to test and find the screener that is right for you. So don’t settle, hunt around and find the best screener for stocks that matches your needs!
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