How to use the Stock Screener

The Stock Screener tool allows you to find companies of interest using a combination of your own defined criteria. You can identify buy and sell signals plus search for shares showing high yield, rapid growth, good value or strong price movement and lots more.

General - How To Use

For beginners to screening, we recommend that you start with our Screening Wizard. The Wizard will ask you a series of questions, and will build a custom screen for you based on your responses. If you want to view and edit the criteria that the Wizard selects, click on the links to view or refine your criteria.

If you would like guidance on popular investment strategies, we recommend you start with one of our Popular Strategy Screens. The criteria for these have already been set-up, so you can go straight to the results and see companies that meet these criteria today. Or, click on the name of the strategy for information on how and why the criteria were selected.

For more experienced investors, simply click on the link near the top of the page to build your own screen. From there you can start to create your custom screen based on any combination of criteria.

Tip: See our glossary for help with the financial terms used in the screener.

Creating A Screen

If you choose to build your own screen, start by selecting the pool of shares that you wish to screen. You can choose either a market index (e.g. FTSE 100 or TechMark) or a sector (e.g. Mobile Telecommunications), but not both. If you do not make a selection, the default will be to screen on the whole of the market.

Next, enter values for each criteria that you want to use. You can set a minimum value if you are looking for companies that are greater than your specified criteria (example – dividend yield greater than 3%) or a maximum value of you are looking for companies that are less than your specified criteria (example – PEG ratio less than 1) or both a minimum and maximum to screen on a range.

You can enter values for as few or as many criteria that you choose. As you tap in your values, the bar at the top of the page will update to show you how many results will be found. If your criteria are too specific, and no companies meet your criteria this will show as 0.

Tip: Remember to check the unit – i.e. whether you need to enter the values as percentages, in pence/pounds, millions etc.

Finally, use the Results Display options to determine how you would like the results displayed, to select how many companies to display and to specify the sort order.

Help with the Technical Screener

The Technical Screener allows you to screen on buy and sell signals, chart shapes and technical indicators. For definitions of all of the technical terms, read the Digital Look Glossary. Most technical indicators, unless otherwise indicated, are calculated from the daily closing price.

Price Within x% of 52 Wk High - This data point enables you to find companies whose most recent closing price is near to its 52 week high. For example, to find companies that are within 10% of their 52 week high, enter 10 in the minimum data field.

Tip: When the most recent closing price is near to its 52 week high, this can indicate strong upwards price momentum. However, some traders will also look at this as a possible market turning point, and use this as an opportunity to sell short.

Price Within x% of 52 Wk Low - This data point enables you to find companies whose most recent closing price is near to its 52 week low. For example, to find companies that are within 2% of their 52 week low, enter 2 in the minimum data field.

Tip: When the most recent closing price is near to its 52 week low, this can indicate strong downwards price momentum. However, some traders will also look at this as a possible market turning point, and use this as an opportunity to buy.

Percentage Price Break Above MA line – This data point enables you to find companies where the most recent closing price has risen above a predefined daily moving average (moving average simply shows the rolling averages of a predefined range of closing consecutive share prices). For example, to find shares that have risen at least 10% above their 20 day moving average simply select 10 in the first input box and then from the drop-down menu select the 20 day option.

Tip: In a buyers market this may be a signal of renewed buying pressure, and therefore some traders believe that prices will rise.

Percentage Price Break Below MA line – This data point enables you to find companies where the most recent closing price has dropped below a predefined daily moving average (moving average simply shows the rolling averages of a predefined range of closing consecutive share prices). For example, to find shares that have dropped at least 10% below their 20 day moving average simply select 10 in the first input box and then from the drop-down menu select the 20 day option.

Tip: In a sellers market this may be a signal of renewed selling pressure, and therefore some traders believe that prices will fall.

Price Line Crossing Above the Simple Moving Average – This data point enables you to find companies where the most recent closing price has risen above a predefined daily moving average (moving average simply shows the rolling averages of a predefined range of closing consecutive share prices). For example, to find shares whose most recent closing price has risen above the 9 day moving average line, simply select 9 from the drop-down menu.

Tip: In a buyers market this may be a signal of renewed buying pressure, and therefore some traders believe that prices will rise. Some experts believe that selecting a larger moving average time period gives a stronger signal.

Price Line Crossing Below the Simple Moving Average – This data point enables you to find companies where the most recent closing price has dropped below a predefined daily moving average (moving average simply shows the rolling averages of a predefined range of closing consecutive share prices). For example, to find shares whose most recent closing price has dropped below the 25 day moving average line, simply select 25 from the drop-down menu.

Tip: In a sellers market this may be a signal of renewed selling pressure, and therefore some traders believe that prices will fall. Some experts believe that selecting a larger moving average time period gives a stronger signal.

RSI - This data point enables you to identify when a share is considered overbought or oversold. RSI (Relative Strength Index) measures the magnitude of gains over a predefined time period against the magnitude of losses over that period. RSI ranges from 0 to 100 and the equation is:

RSI = 100 – {100 / (1 + [(total gains / n) / (total losses / n)] where n is the number of periods. For the stock screener, n is set at 20.

For example, to find shares whose RSI is greater than 80, simply enter the number 80 in the minimum data field.

Tip: An RSI greater than 70% can indicate overbought conditions, while lower than 30 can indicate oversold conditions. Some experts look for buying opportunities when RSI readings are around 25-30% in an uptrend and selling opportunities when RSI readings are 70-85% in a downtrend. This tool is generally considered to be a weak indicator, and should not be used in isolation to make a trading decision.

Williams %R - This data point enables you to identify when a share is considered overbought or oversold. Williams %R shows the relationship between the most recent closing price against the range of closing prices over a predetermined time period. Williams %R ranges from 0 to -100 and the equation is:

Williams %R = [(highest high– close price) / ( highest high– lowest low)] x -100

For the stock screener, the time period is set at 14 days.

For example, to find shares whose Williams %R is between -80 and -100, simply enter -80 in the maximum data field.

Tip: This indicator is used in a similar way to the RSI and the same guidelines apply when using Williams %R. A Williams %R between 0 and -30 can indicate overbought conditions, and between -70 and -100 can indicate oversold conditions. Some experts will look for buying opportunities when the Williams %R is between -70 and -100 in an uptrend, and selling opportunities when it is between 0 and -30 in a downtrend. This tool is generally considered to be a weak indicator, and should not be used in isolation to make a trading decision.

MACD (12, 26) – This data point enables you to identify bullish and bearish signals for a share. MACD (12, 26) measures the difference between a 12 day moving average and a 26 day moving average (moving average simply shows the rolling averages of a predefined range of closing consecutive share prices). The difference between the two moving averages is a measure of the rate of change. There is no minimum or maximum value, and the rate of change fluctuates around the 0 line. The stock screener is based on this rate of change. For example, to find shares whose rate of change is greater than 10, simply enter the number 10 in the minimum data field.

Tip: A positive rate of change can be considered a bullish signal, and some traders believe will lead to a rise in prices. This is a particularly strong signal if the rate of change is increasingly positive. Conversely, a negative rate of change can be considered a bearish signal.

MACD (18, 36) - This data point enables you to identify bullish and bearish signals for a share. MACD (18, 36) measures the difference between an 18 day moving average and a 36 day moving average (moving average simply shows the rolling averages of a predefined range of closing consecutive share prices). The difference between the two moving averages is a measure of the rate of change. There is no minimum or maximum value, and the rate of change fluctuates around the 0 line. The stock screener is based on this rate of change. For example, to find shares whose rate of change is greater than 10, simply enter the number 10 in the minimum data field.

Tip: A positive rate of change can be considered a bullish signal, and some traders believe will lead to a rise in prices. This is a particularly strong signal if the rate of change is increasingly positive. Conversely, a negative rate of change can be considered a bearish signal.

Average True Range – This data point enables you to identify a share’s volatility. Average True Range (ATR) looks at the difference between the most recent high and low, or the difference between the previous day’s close and the most recent high OR low. The largest absolute value is taken, and the average of these values over a predefined period (14 days) is then taken. Subsequent 14 day periods are used to create a moving average. For example, to find shares whose ATR is greater than 1, simply enter the number 1 in the minimum data field.

Tip: High ATR values can indicate high volatility and may be an indication of panic selling or panic buying. Low ATR readings indicate sideways movement by the share. In itself ATR does not measure price direction – only whether a share is actively traded or not.

Belt Hold + - This data point enables you to identify when investor sentiment has changed from bearish (pessimistic) to bullish (optimistic). The Belt Hold + is a candlestick charting pattern (a type of bar chart used in technical analysis) that is formed when the opening price is significantly lower than the closing price, during a downward price trend. For example, to find shares that opened on a low and closed within 5% of their high, enter the number 5 in the data field.

Tip: Traders use the Belt Hold + to help identify a possible reversal in the price trend, and therefore they may expect prices to rise. This tool is generally considered to be a weak indicator, and should not be used in isolation to make a trading decision.

Belt Hold - - This data point enables you to identify when investor sentiment has changed from bullish (optimistic) to bearish (pessimistic). The Belt Hold - is a candlestick charting pattern (a type of bar chart used in technical analysis) that is formed when a share opens on its high and closes near its low, during and upward price trend. For example, to find shares who opened on a high and closed within 10% of their low, enter 10 in the data field.

Tip: Traders use the Belt Hold - to help identify a possible reversal in the price trend, and therefore they may expect prices to fall. This tool is generally considered to be a weak indicator, and should not be used in isolation to make a trading decision.

Top Tips For using the screener

If you want to find companies that are above a certain threshold, enter a value in the minimum field and leave the maximum field blank. For example, to find companies with a market cap of more than £250m, type 250 into the minimum field and leave the maximum field empty.

If you want to find companies that are below a certain threshold, enter a value in the minimum field and leave the maximum field blank. For example, to find companies with a market cap of less than £250m, leave the minimum field blank (or enter 0) and type 250 into the maximum field.