If you’re a prospective investor, you need to be aware of which industries and opportunities might be worth your time. But you probably don’t have the time to make investments or research the latest stock trends!
To solve this predicament, consider registering for a stock screener. People use this tool to browse and sort available stock based on the criteria they input, or to create or build their stock portfolio.
One of the most prominent stock screeners available is FinViz. This application provides investors and traders financial analysis, research, and visuals to sort their stock options. Although some people might find it challenging to navigate a stock screener, FinViz is relatively simple to navigate. You can also use it for free!
Here’s a guide on how to use FinViz to its fullest extent. By following these steps, you should be able to maneuver through it effortlessly.
Go to FinViz’s Homepage and Find the Screener Tab
Before learning how to use the FinViz stock screener, investors will need to go to the homepage to access links to the screener.
The homepage lists several stock market indexes and the rising or falling prices. At the top of the webpage, look for the link reading “Screener.” Once you click it, you’ll go to a webpage listing several company stocks.
Select Your Stock Screener Criteria Category
After you access the Screener page, you have the option to select how to categorize your criteria for the stocks you want. There are three tabs to pick from, so it’s up to you to choose one of them. There’s also an option to use all categories simultaneously and filter your desired criteria.
By using these filters, you can reduce the number of stocks from thousands to a few hundred. If you don’t want to feel overwhelmed reading each page of stocks, this is a valuable tool for you.
Descriptive
Many consider this criteria category tab the simplest to use. Some of the descriptive tab criteria include target price, sector, dividend yield, float short, average volume, and IPO date. The market capitalization option allows users to view the differences between large and small caps.
Fundamental
The fundamental category leans more on ratio analysis. If you’re interested in determining earnings and equities while comparing stocks to add to your portfolio, this might be a more suitable category for you. Some of the criteria found in the fundamental tab include:
- Return of investment
- Gross margin
- Insider ownership
- Insider transactions
- Dividend payout ratio
- Return of equity
- Current ratio
- Quick ratio
Technical
Most people choose this category for separating specific stocks that don’t match your ideal technicals. You can use this tab to determine patterns, changes, and gaps. Some other criteria found in the technical tab that narrows down your stock options include:
- 52 week high/low
- After-hours close
- 200-day simple moving average
- 20-day high/low
- RSI
- Beta
- 50-day simple moving average
Viewing Visual Charts
After setting your filters, you’ll get an overview of the stocks matching your set criteria. If you click on the charts toolbar, you can view your results in chart form. This tab gives you three options for visuals, including the candle, line, and technical.
You can also pick the timeframe you want to view, such as daily, weekly, or monthly. People with elite memberships can pick the intraday option. This feature is ideal for users who want visual aids to predict possible stock growth and losses to avoid too many risks.
Understanding and Exporting Your Results from FinViz
After filtering the available stock, it would be best for you to pick out the top ones that might pique your interest. For example, if you pick your top five, you can spend less time researching financial reports for the companies of your interest.
Before settling on your companies' stock investments, it would be wise to think about how much you understand their business models. If they show signs of strength, it’s more likely the stock has a dedicated management team.
Another essential aspect to consider while picking stocks is the advantages and disadvantages a company has with its industry. The more obstacles there are, the more likely the stock may not grow. It will also be favorable if you find businesses that you enjoy the most.
If you signed up for FinViz’s elite plan, you could export the results from the stock screener. At the bottom right corner of the company list, you’ll find a button reading “Export.” After choosing to export your results, you can save them into an Excel spreadsheet for future reference.
If you’re using it for free, you can copy and paste each page into Excel.
Creating an Account
When accessing FinViz, you’re given the option to create an account and set up an online portfolio for your stock analysis. Users have the option to use FinViz for free, sign up for a registered account, or register for an elite account.
Although each option has several tool similarities and functionality, some features registered accounts have over accessing the site for free, such as page customization, saving settings, and tracking trades or investments.
Customizing Your Settings
When using FinViz for free, you’ll typically need to repeat each filtering process to view your results. If you sign up for a registered FinViz account, you’re qualified to save your search settings and can save up to a maximum of 50 presets for your FinViz screener searches.
FinViz elite accounts can create more presets, so it would be best to decide which one works best for you.
To access your presets, search for the find the info tab, pick settings, and select the screener presets. When accessing this module, you’re free to edit your presets or delete them. You can also adjust the code lines for your filters to whatever you find appropriate.
Most Popular Settings
As a popular tool for investors and traders, many FinViz settings simplify searches and find the stocks that hold the most significant potential for growth and success. After all, rising numbers and potential leads to more capital for you to earn. We’ve compiled a list of some of the best FinViz screener settings to accommodate your stock search.
Marketing Capitalization
By deciding on a minimum marketing cap, users can filter out which company investments they want and don’t. They can use this to avoid small companies’ unpredictability on the market and larger ones that may be too challenging to keep up with updates.
Price
It would be best to avoid lower-value trades since they can change without warning. Filtering stocks with higher prices may have a higher chance of remaining consistent.
Volume
Stocks with a reasonable volume tend to be bought and sold quickly. It would be best for investors and sellers to avoid stocks that trade less than 300,000 shares per day. If you find a stock with a high volume of transactions, consider narrowing down these results.
Past Performance
Consider adjusting your screener to analyze rising stocks in previous months to filter out stocks that lose value. By doing this, you can avoid finding stocks that are losing value. Although you can check any periods, it would be wise to focus on a current market or industry.
P/E Ratio
It would be best to measure the price-to-earnings ratios between companies in the same industries since other industries may have different ratios and risk factors. Having a lower P/E ratio tends to be beneficial, and several individuals prefer looking for single-digit ratios.
PEG Ratio
Typically, it would be best for you to find lower PEG ratios. Several people prefer watching their earnings grow over time. As growth occurs, it’s more likely to be worth more in the future. Although the predictability may vary, it gives a general hypothesis of what’s to come.
Return on Equity
Many people use this setting to measure a company’s competitive advantage. By having a greater return on equity percentage, companies are more likely to surpass their competition and build higher profits over time.
Using Other Features
Besides using the screener feature, there are other features available on how to use FinViz. If you need information about specific companies you want to invest in, you can browse through the news section.
For direct visualizations of stock values before building your portfolio, you can use FinViz’s Maps feature. The maps show the stock prices based on each company’s sector and industry. The boxes listed on the map also represent the comparison of market capitalization for each company.
Conclusion
FinViz helps investors save time deciding which companies are worth the investment. While some may find the application daunting, it's simple to follow once you know what criteria you need to filter. Just find the settings that match your liking, then you can save time searching for your ideal stocks.
Additionally, you can check stock price changes through the site’s other features to track their growth and relevance on the market. Depending on what industries you’re interested in, this tool might be vital in growing your earnings.
