Free Stock Screeners

Here is a review of some of the best Free Stock Screeners to help you pick one.

  • MSN Deluxe Screener
  • Yahoo Finance
  • CNBC
  • Morningstar Free Screener
  • Zacks Custom Screener



    • MSN Deluxe Screener

    Investing Universe: Market Cap, Index Membership (DJIA, S&P500),

    Valuation: P/E, PEG, P/S, P/BV, P/CF, Dividend Yield

    Investment Return: ROE, ROA, ROI. For all 3, MSN proposes 1yr and also 5 yrs average.

    Relative Strength: Yes (3 months, 6 months, 12 months)

    Growth: EPS Growth (QoQ, 1 yr). Revenue Growth (QoQ, 1 yr, 5 yrs).

    Others: Many Analyst forecasts, EPS Surprises, % held by Institutions, Insider transactions, Advisor FYI (see below).

    Ranking of results: Yes.

    Pros:
    • Proprietary Stock Ratings (StockScouter)
    • Can build complex screening formulas (check Magic Formula Investing with MSN Screener to see an example).

    • Can compare 2 criteria as a filtering condition (e.g. "Current P/E" ≤ "5 yrs average P/E". Most free screeners would only allow a numerical value after the ≤ sign)
    • Can show any screening criterion in the results (select any criterion you want and then select "Display Only" in "Operator"). Useful if you want to re-rank your stocks through other parameters.
    • Advisor FYI: allows to screen for change in several factors (e.g. Profit Margin increased/decreased, Institutional Ownership increased/decreased and many more).

    Cons: requires Internet Explorer.

    Overall: The Best free stock screener. Many possibilities for both Value, Growth and Momemtum Investors.



    Yahoo Finance Stock Screener         Go Back to Top

    Investing Universe: Market Cap, Index Membership (DJIA, S&P500).

    Valuation: P/E, PEG, P/S, P/BV, Dividend Yield.

    Investment Return: ROE, ROA.

    Relative Strength: No. The Relative Strength shown is just the last day Relative Strength which might be OK for Traders but definitely not for Investors.

    Growth: 5 yrs EPS Growth.

    Others: Many Analyst Estimates (Revenue and EPS forecasts), % held by Insiders, % held by Institutions, Many share price data for Day Traders.

    Ranking of results: Yes.

    Pros:
    • Shows the Average Market value (for the DJIA, S&P500 and Nasdaq) of any screening criterion. Useful to set thresholds in your filtering.

    Cons:
    • No Relative Strength.

    • Poor on Growth (EPS, Sales) criteria.


    Overall: Good Screener for Value Investors that do not use the Relative Strength.


    CNBC Free Stock Screener         Go Back to Top

    Investing Universe: Market Cap, Index Membership (DJIA, S&P500), ADR

    Valuation: P/E (5 yr Low, 5 yr Average, 5 yr High), P/S, P/BV, P/CF, Dividend Yield

    Investment Return: ROE, ROA, ROIC

    Relative Strength: No (You can Select Top X% stocks in the Industry or Market but you can’t rank through Relative Strength)

    Growth: 1 yr EPS Growth, 5yrs Sales Growth. Earnings Revisions

    Others: Many Analyst Estimates, Many Financials (Debt, current ratio, quick ratio…), Stock Beta

    Ranking of results: Yes but not through Price Performances (therefore no Relative Strength).

    Pros:
    • Shows the number of stocks that pass each criterion. It allows you to check if a screening criterion is too aggressive or not.


    • CNBC has a nice feature allowing to screen for a specific quintile: below is an example showing how to screen for the 20% Bottom PE in the Market.


      • CNBC Free Stock Screener Price Eraning Ratio Ranking

    Cons: Stocks that pass your screen can’t be sorted through the Relative Strength.

    Overall: A nice free screener – very easy to use and fast – Recommended if you’re a Value or Growth Investor and don’t use the Relative Strength.



    Morningstar Free Screener         Go Back to Top

    Investing Universe:
    • Market Cap,


    • Morningstar Equity Style Box (A mix of Large/Mid/Small Market Cap and Value/Growth style),


    • Moningstar Stock Type (high yield, distressed, hard asset, cyclical, slow growth, classic growth, aggressive growth, and speculative growth),

    Valuation: P/E, PEG, Dividend Yield.

    Investment Return: ROE.

    Relative Strength: Yes (From the Results, select "View / Stock Performance" and then sort by "1 Year return")

    Growth: 3 yr Sales Growth, 5 yrs EPS Growth forecast. More are available in the scoring tool after you run the screen.

    Others: Morningstar Grades (Growth, Profitability, Financial Health).

    Ranking of results: Yes (see also Scoring below).

    Pros:
    • Morningstar Proprietary Stock Ratings (Equity Style Box, Stock Type, Grades)


    • Scoring: Allows you to re-rank the stocks passing the screen through a series of criteria with your own weight. You can select from many criteria (including P/S, P/BV, ROA, Debt…) not available in the screening interface.


    Cons: You can only select from a drop down menu and can’t input your own values.

    Overall: A good free stock screening tool - Recommended -



    Zacks Custom Screener         Go Back to Top

    Investing Universe: Market Cap, Index Membership (S&P500 only).

    Valuation: P/E, P/S, P/BV, P/CF, PEG, Dividend Yield.

    Investment Return: ROE, ROA (1 yr and 5 yrs), ROI (1 yr and 5 yrs)

    Relative Strength: No. Only "Year to Date" Relative Strength which is often not adapted. In "Price & Price changes", select Relative Price Change ≥1.

    Growth: EPS Growth (QoQ / 1 yr / 5 yrs), Sales Growth (1 yr / 5 yrs).

    Others: Many Brokers Ratings, EPS Surprises, EPS Revisisons, % held by Insiders, % held by Institutions

    Ranking of results: No (but you can export the results to Excel and perform your own Ranking).

    Pros: EPS Surprises, EPS Revisions.
    Cons:
    • No Relative Strength

    • Can't easilly sort results.


    Overall: One of the most complete Free Screener. But what a pity ! Zacks has many screening variables for Momentum Investors (Quarter on Quarter EPS Growth, EPS Surprises/Revisions...) but no Relative Strength.

    Other Free Stock Screeners Go back to Top

    There are many other free stock screeners on the internet (Market Watch, AOL...). The above are - to my opinion - the best ones.

    Go Back to Top