In this article, we compile a list of five of the best stock screeners that can help you spot opportunities in the stock market by filtering through thousands of shares.
Screening for stock opportunities
Investors can use a stock screener to find stocks that meet specific trading or investing criteria. A stock screener is a software that finds stocks. A scan is then created using the criteria we want a stock to meet (or not meet), and parameters are the values we want our criteria to fall between.
A stock screener allows you to input various metrics and then shows you a list of stocks that meet specific criteria. This is useful for stock selection and narrowing down research time. Here are five of the best stock screeners you can try out.
List of stock screeners
1. TradingView
TradingView’s stock screener analyses approximately 1,500 Australian stocks. These can all be sorted based on different pre-set metrics. For example, selecting the Valuation tab shows market cap, P/E, price/revenue, EPS and more.
You can click on any of these metrics to rank by that metric. For example, click P/E to see the stocks with the lowest or highest price/earnings ratio.
Adjust existing screeners or create your own by clicking the Filters tab. Here, you’ll have access to hundreds of technical and fundamental criteria to create a list of stocks that meet your exact parameters. Assuming you have at least a free account, the scan can be saved.
2. BarChart
The BarChart Australian stock screener offers a variety of fundamental and technical criteria for creating a stock scan. To add a filter, use the Add a Filter box and select from the dropdown menus. Once selected, specify the parameters. For example, if choosing a 200-day moving average, add it and then input where you want the price in relation to it.
Creating and saving stock scans requires a free account. The site offers several pre-set scans, including Gap Up & Gap Down, Five Day Gainers, New Recommendations, and Volume Advances.
3. Wallmine
When Australia is selected as the country, Wallmine will scan through more than 2,000 companies. No sign-up is required to create and run a scan, but a free account is required to save it.
You can choose from a variety of fundamental and technical criteria via the Add a Filter dropdown. There are about 65 criteria, which work well for basic scanning but may not meet the needs of someone looking for very specific criteria or a technical indicator to include.
Once a criterion is selected, the parameters for that criterion can be customised precisely, such as specifying a P/E range between 3 and 7.
For many investors, the main attraction of this site is the tables. Once you have produced a scan list, you can view the results using more than 20 layouts providing different information about the stocks. This allows for a more thorough analysis and looking at the stock from multiple angles, not just as a result of the metrics that were scanned for.
4. Finviz
Finviz will only scan for Australian companies listed on US exchanges since it is a US stock screener. This tool may be useful for those trading on US exchanges, but it has limited functionality for users focused on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX). For example, Finviz can scan only around 24 Australian companies.
The Finviz layout is intuitive and highly visual. The available criteria are organised under three tabs: Descriptive, Fundamental and Technical (or click the All tab to view all the criteria).
Scanning is free, but saving the scan requires a free account. Customising the parameters of a criterion requires a monthly subscription.
Click on the various tables to see the scan list through multiple lenses. Performance shows how all the stocks on the list have performed over several time frames, while the Charts tab shows charts of all the stocks on the list for quick visual comparison.
The screener can also look for chart and candlestick patterns based on the daily chart.
5. FT.com
The Financial Times stock screener filters through approximately 1,900 Australian companies. To use this screener, first, select Australia as your country, then add additional criteria to narrow down the list. This screener mostly comprises fundamental criteria, like P/E and company growth statistics.
This screener has virtually no technical analysis criteria to add to the scan. This may limit its usefulness for technical investors, but fundamental investors may appreciate its simple layout and functionality.
Scans can’t be saved. You’ll need to input the criteria each time you want to run a scan or keep the browser window open and refresh the results by clicking “Go” on the scanner.
Four popular screens on Australian stocks
The following are popular screens or scans you can run using Australian stock screeners. Some screeners may not accommodate all since each provides different criteria.
1. Stock price is above 50/100/200-day moving average
Use one moving average or all three. The 200-day moving average helps determine the longer-term trend. The 100-day and 50-day moving averages help determine the shorter-term trend. If the price is above all three, it indicates the price is rising and likely in an uptrend. This is a good basic stock filter for finding stocks in uptrends and eliminating stocks in downtrends.
2. P/E ratio below 10 with EPS growth
This is a scan to find possible value stocks. P/E ratios show the stock price relative to the company’s earnings. P/Es of 10 and below are generally considered medium to low (the lower you go, the better the perceived value), which means the price is low compared to the company's earnings, possibly indicating a good price to buy.
P/E ratios only tell part of the story. P/E may be low because the company’s earnings are shrinking. Consider combining the P/E ratio scan with an earnings growth criteria, looking for stocks that have increasing earnings and are trading at a low valuation.
3. New 52-week highs
A stock that has recently hit a new 52-week high means it’s experiencing upward momentum and its highest share price in the last year. The list may include stocks in strong uptrends, stocks that have been beaten down over the last year but are starting to move up, or stocks with good news that are surging to new highs.
4. 50- and 200-period moving averages crossover
When the 50-period moving average crosses above the 200-period moving average, it can signal that an uptrend is starting. When the 50 crosses below the 200, it can signal a downtrend is starting. These moving averages may be useful for longer-term trades on higher chart intervals such as weekly and monthly. For shorter-term trades, try looking at lower time frames, such as a four-hour or daily chart.
What are the benefits of using a stock screener?
A benefit of a stock screener is that it can scan through hundreds of stocks in seconds, saving you time. A specific scan can often be saved and run at any time and presents a shorter list of shares to consider for trading. The stock screener can also be used as part of a stock trading strategy, requiring that any stock traded meets specific criteria determined by the scanner.
What are the limitations of using a stock screener?
A limitation of a stock screener is that it’s purely mechanical and will eliminate stocks that fall even a tiny amount outside of the specific scanner criteria. For example, if there is a filter that says only show stocks above their 200-day moving average, a stock that is 0.01% below won’t show up in the results, even though it may be a good stock. Therefore, you may want to brush up on your technical analysis skills so that you can conduct your own analysis.
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