We all know the importance of choosing fundamentally strong companies for long-term wealth accumulation when buying stocks. Professionally managed companies with robust earnings, sales, and profit margins are the cornerstone of long-term investing. With more than 2,000 listed companies on the National Stock Exchange, filtering out strong stocks can certainly feel overwhelming.
Don’t worry, this is where stock screeners come in handy. In this post today, I will share with you the 10 best free stock screeners that you can use to pick fundamentally strong stocks for your long-term investment goals.
But, there’s a catch – to get the most out of stock screeners, it’s first important to understand the key financial metrics they use. These metrics will guide you in filtering out companies with the financial strength and characteristics that align with your investment goals. Read my blog post on ‘Beginners’ guide to fundamental analysis of stocks‘ to learn more about this. So, without further ado, let’s get started with our list of top stock screeners…
1. Ticker by Finology
Finology ticker is great for beginners. With easy to understand charts and star ratings on key metrics, this stock screener can be a go-to choice for new investors.
There is a FinStar analytical rating assigned to each stock based on an aggregate score of Ownership strength, Valuation, Efficiency and Financials.
Then, there is a block titled “Company Essentials” that provides at-a-glance information on key financial ratios and metrics such as Price/Equity, Price/Band, EPS, ROE, ROCE, etc
Ticker by Finology also provides historical data about PE of a stock to help you make an informed decision on whether a stock is currently undervalued or overvalued compared to its historical PE.
2. Screener.in
Screener.in is another very popular free stock screener for fundamental analysis of stocks. The most interesting feature of screener is that it lets you create custom queries to generate a list of stocks meeting your selection criteria.
While it offers a variety of pre-built screens, the ability to create custom queries for stock shortlisting is particularly appealing.
Creating a search query on Screener.in is a breeze. The platform offers automatic suggestions for input parameters as you type your keywords. Here’s an example:
3. Stockedge
Stockedge is a highly popular and user-friendly stock screener ideal for beginners. While some reports and features require a paid subscription, the free version offers all the necessary tools for shortlisting stocks based on fundamental analysis, making it a great starting point in my opinion.
In the Fundamental Analysis tab, the Overview section offers a concise snapshot of key financial indicators, including:
- Price-to-Earnings (PE) ratio
- Industry PE ratio
- Dividend Yield (%)
- Total free float (number of outstanding shares)
This section provides a quick and easy-to-digest summary of essential financial metrics, helping users swiftly assess a company’s performance and make informed investment decisions.
Next, the Ratios sub-tab offers a comprehensive snapshot for evaluating a stock’s performance through various financial ratios, including:
- Return Ratios (ROE / ROCE)
- Solvency Ratios (Debt to Equity)
- Efficiency Ratios (Profit After Tax margins, etc.)
- Growth Ratios (e.g., Sales / Profit growth, Earnings Per Share growth)
This tab enables users to delve deeper into a company’s financial health, profitability, and growth prospects, providing a more nuanced understanding of its investment potential.
For those who want to dive deeper into a company’s financial performance over the past decade, the Results tab is a treasure trove of insights. Here, you can access detailed financial data, including:
- Sales figures (year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter)
- Profit figures (year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter)
- EBITDA margins (year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter)
This tab provides a comprehensive 10-year financial overview, enabling users to identify trends, patterns, and anomalies in a company’s financial performance, and make more informed investment decisions.
4. Trendlyne
Trendlyne positions itself as a unique stock screener, which assigns a comprehensive DVM score to every stock. A DVM score? What’s that? Well, it’s a score based on three key factors:
- Durability (D): A measure of a company’s financial strength and resilience
- Valuation (V): An assessment of whether the stock is fairly priced at current levels
- Momentum (M): A gauge of the stock’s price movement
The DVM score provides a holistic view of a stock’s attractiveness, enabling investors to quickly evaluate opportunities and make informed decisions.
That’s not all – Trendlyne also provides a comprehensive SWOT analysis for each stock, offering a detailed breakdown of its Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.
Additionally, the platform features a PE Buy/Sell Zone graph, which plots the stock’s current price-to-earnings ratio against its historical range, helping investors identify: Overvalued or undervalued stocks, Potential buy or sell signals, and Optimal entry and exit points.
Financial Ratios under the Financial tab provide snapshot of a company’s financial performance for the recent decade.
5. Motilal Oswal Research 360
Research 360, powered by Motilal Oswal Financial Services, is another robust platform that shares similarities with Trendlyne in terms of features. One of its standout offerings is a scorecard that evaluates stocks based on three crucial parameters
- Quality – a measure of company’s financial strength
- Valuation – a measure of stock’s fair price
- Technical – a measure of short-term price momentum
This scorecard provides a concise and data-driven snapshot of a stock’s attractiveness, enabling investors to make informed decisions with confidence.
In addition to the scorecard, Research 360 offers a plethora of features to empower investors, including:
- In-depth research reports: Detailed analysis of a company’s financials, management, industry trends, and competitive landscape
- Peer Comparison: Side-by-side analysis of a stock’s performance with its industry peers
- Financial Statements: Access to historical and forecasted financial statements, including income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements
- Ratios and Metrics: A comprehensive library of financial ratios and metrics, such as ROE, ROCE, and debt-to-equity
- News and Announcements: Real-time updates on company news, announcements, and market developments
- Screeners and Filters: Customizable tools to screen stocks based on specific criteria, such as sector, market cap, and dividend yield
I believe that it’s not wrong to say that these features collectively provide a 360-degree view of the stock you are screening!
What’s your favorite stock screener?
Which stock screener do you use to shortlist fundamentally strong stocks? Please share your feedback in the comments below.
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