The idea with stock screeners was so interesting that at the request of readers of investment exchange portal Investlb.com I decided to do a review of a few of the screeners. I have to say: the results are not very impressive, because the programs are very imperfect. But, if you combine the results of several of the screeners, the overall picture is quite clear. I assessed the popularity of the screeners by the frequency of mentions in blogs and by the fact that the search engine gives in the first position.
- Screeners of shares — the services that help to filter stocks in world markets on necessary basis (for branches, payment of dividends, capitalization, etc.). Screener — a helper which saves the investor time and helps to find the right asset.
In the last article I described Google Finance screener. This service is one of the most popular, but for all the strengths it has a lot of weaknesses:
- ease. This is an advantage and disadvantage at the same time. It is easy and clear to work with this service, but it does not have convenient features (charts, graphs) that other screeners have. It is simple, but for General information purposes only;
- coverage. This screener is universal, it has a list of exchanges around the world. But, for example, in Russia there are less companies in it than in fact. Though other screeners are customized for a specific exchange, but they have more information;
- technical problems. The service sometimes hangs.
However, the other services are not better.
Screeners of stocks: what service is more reliable
Yahoo! Finance Stock Screener
It’s difficult to say who called this screener the best one. I have a different impression about it. The service works only with the American stock market and traders themselves admit that before the service had better structure, that is, changes occurred not for the better. We are not talking about the intuitive interface, and the principles of filtering companies are not clear. The number of filters is relatively little, but there are interactive graphics. It is not possible to compare this service with others by the number of shares, because it has a radically different principle of construction of information.
This stock screener is rather praised by reviews than criticized, but you need knowledge of English and understanding of how it works. But this is more difficult.
Finviz Screener
The whole site is an excellent analytical database exclusively for the US stock market. It consists of several sections, including the screener for shares that by the number of filters is ahead of all. For example: Google Finance for US markets — about 600 companies, Finviz more than 1,000. However, Finviz, for example, in Europe the screener displays less than 200 names, whereas Google Finance only on the Italian stock market, displays more than 400 items.
The service menu is divided into separate parts:
- Maps. In this section, the company is divided into sectors and subsectors in which each asset is represented by a rectangular cell. The relative size of the cells clearly shows the level of capitalization of the companies. If you hover over the cell, the display of quotes appears: green color is growth, red – fall;
- Group. Here you can see the changes for past periods by sector and capitalization;
- Futures, Forex — quotes of assets in these markets.
At first it may seem that the stock screener is overloaded with information, but just 20-30 minutes will be enough to deal with where to find the information you need. It is a pity that it is only on the American market.
Investing
There are plenty of tools on the website: heat map, and charts in dynamics, calculators. Screener of stocks is also present on the website, far more successful than all the previous ones. However, talking about the stock market in Russia — this is probably the only adequate screener, focused solely on the Russian stock market. However, unlike Google Finance in its list a total of about 290 companies, but the performance in MB is higher. For example, after setting parameter for dividend income in excess of 10.18% this screener finds 19, not 12 like Google Finance.
To use the screener is relatively simple, I think, you will understand yourselves.
Stock-Watcher
This stock screener is in the top of the search engines. And it’s completely undeserved. Visually, the screener seems to be very interesting — graphics, interactivity, multiple filters. According to the website the quotes are updated every 15 minutes. But in Russia the screener (Russian interface) gives only 2 companies: MTS and Mechel. And when trying to access the quotes, the link is somehow being transferred to Apple. I did not compare the US stock market, because the screener feels uncomfortable, and even with technical failures.
Hamana Screener
For the US stock market screener finds more than 1,200 shares, but on other markets there is no information. The user on the home page immediately offered to put the filters (about 25 pieces) and clicking the “Apply” button, the service will offer charts of suitable companies. Visually it is convenient, but there is no decryption of tickers and that is the problem. Screener although is good (and there are positive feedbacks about it), it is uncomfortable at work, but as a duplicate one you can use it.
Summary. Screeners of stocks are still not perfect — there is no universal program for a multinational investor. Screeners work best in the American stock markets, in Asian markets there are almost no screeners, (existing do not reveal information fully). And yet, despite their inaccuracies, they are quite suitable for the first acquaintance with a foreign market — at least for the overall picture and understanding of who is the leader of growth. On the analysis of the principles of filtering, 15-20 minutes is sufficient.
P.S. Screeners of stocks is a very useful thing, but sometimes there’s just no time to understand how they work. If you are on the Russian market, I recommend to use ready-made simple services to Russian brokers, for example, the online store of stocks from one of the leaders of the stock market — broker “Finam”.
