Fundamental parameter groupings in rules

You will notice as you use sort or filter rules that the fundamental parameters are listed by group, then the actual parameter name such as: price momentum: 6 month momentum. We have used these groupings to make it (hopefully) easier to find the precise parameter that interests you from a list of dozens of parameters. The following sections provide a guide to the available parameter groupings.

analyst ratings

The analysts' ratings group contains two parameters: the number of analysts covering a given equity and the average analysts' rating for the equity. The analysts' rating is measured with 1.0 = "strong buy" through 5 = "strong sell" (buy, hold, and sell are assigned 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0, respectively).

The fundamental screener has three preset settings which adjust the desired analysts' ratings. The good analysts' ratings (buy) option weights the screener in favor of stocks which have high analysts' ratings. The bad analysts' ratings (sell) option has the opposite weighting. The neutral option looks for average analysts' ratings. A custom option allows you to individually adjust both the desired number of analysts and the average analysts' ratings.

It should be noted that analysts have been shown to be systemically optimistic (the median analysts estimate for all stocks in our database is often a 2.0 = "Buy") and therefore below average analysts ratings might still be a 'Hold' rating, for example, rather than 'Sell'.

beta

The beta group contains a single parameter which is beta. Beta is a measure of the volatility of returns for a given equity relative to the market (S&P 500) measured over a 36 month period. Beta values greater than 1 indicate greater volatility than the market while beta values less than 1 indicate lower volatility than the market.

The fundamental screener provides for three preset beta preferences (high, average, or low beta) in addition to a custom option which lets you specify a preference for the beta value and/or minimum and maximum beta limits.

book value

The book value group contains two parameters: the total book value over the last 12 months in millions of dollars and the book value per share in dollars. The fundamental screener provides for three preset book value preferences (high, average or low book value per share) in addition to a custom option which lets you specify a preference for both book value parameters and/or minimum and maximum limits for each of these parameters.

cash

The cash group contains two parameters: the total cash over the last 12 months in millions of dollars and the cash per share in dollars. The fundamental screener provides for three preset cash preferences (high, average or low cash per share) in addition to a custom option which lets you specify a preference for both cash parameters and/or minimum and maximum limits for each of these parameters.

current ratio

The current ratio group contains a single parameter which is the current ratio (most recent quarter total assets divided by most recent quarter total liabilities). The fundamental screener provides for three preset current ratio preferences (high, medium, or low) in addition to a custom option which lets your specify a preference for the current ratio as well as minimum and maximum limits for this parameter.

debt to equity ratio

The low/high/average debt options weight the screener in favor of stocks with low/high/average debt-to-equity ratios. The 'custom' option allows for custom preferences including min/max limits for the debt-to-equity ratio.

dividend yield

The high/low/average dividend yield options weight the screener in favor of stocks with high/low/average dividend yields. The 'custom' option allows for custom preferences including min/max limits for the dividend yield.

earnings

The earnings group contains two parameters: the total earnings over the latest 12 months in millions of dollars and the earnings per share in dollars. The fundamental screener provides for three preset earnings preferences (high, average or low earnings per share) in addition to a custom option which lets you specify a preference for both earnings parameters and/or minimum and maximum limits for each of these parameters.

earnings estimates

The earnings estimates group contains a number of estimated earnings parameters (all parameters are in dollars):

• current year mean - analysts' mean estimated earnings per share for the current year
• current year low - analysts' lowest estimated earnings per share for the current year
• current year high - analysts' highest estimated earnings per share for the current year
• next year mean - analysts' mean estimated earnings per share for the next year
• next year low - analysts' lowest estimated earnings per share for the next year
• next year high - analysts' highest estimated earnings per share for the next year

The fundamental screener provides for three preset earnings estimate settings (high, average, or low current year mean and next year mean) in addition to a custom option which lets your specify a preference for each earnings estimate parameter as well as minimum and maximum limits for these parameters.

earnings growth

The earnings growth group contains a number of earnings growth parameters (all parameters are percentages):

• growth last 5 years - compound annual growth rate of eps for the last 5 years
• growth this year - estimated earnings growth for the current year
• growth next year - estimated earnings growth for next year
• growth next 5 years - long term estimated earnings growth

The fundamental screener provides for three preset earnings estimate settings (high, average, or low growth this year, next year, and next 5 years) in addition to a custom option which lets your specify a preference for each earnings growth parameter as well as minimum and maximum limits for these parameters.

institutional ownership

The institutional ownership group contains a single parameter which is the percentage of common and preferred stock held by institutions. The fundamental screener provides for three preset institutional ownership preferences (high, average or low) in addition to a custom option which lets you specify a preference for institutional ownership and/or minimum and maximum limits for this parameter.

market cap

The market cap group contains a single parameter which is the market capitalization (most recent price x shares outstanding). Stocks are divided into 5 groups based upon their respective market cap: giant (> $25 billion), large ($5 billion - $25 billion), medium ($1 billion - $5 billion), small ($250 million - $1 billion), and micro (< $250 million). The fundamental screener provides a number of preset options which allow you to find stocks in any market cap range as well as a custom option which lets your specify your own range.

p/e, p/b, p/s, peg

The ratios group includes a number of commonly used financial ratios:

• p/e - price divided by trailing 4 quarter earnings per share
• p/b - price divided by most recent quarter common equity (book value) per share
• p/s - price divided by trailing 4 quarter sales per share
• peg - p/e divided by 3 year average projected growth rate

The fundamental screener provides for three preset options (high, average, and low, based upon p/e, p/b and p/s) as well as a custom option which allows you to individual adjust preferences and/or limits for each of these ratios.

price

The price group contains a single parameter which is the most recent closing price for a given equity. The fundamental screener provides for three preset price preferences (high, average or low) in addition to a custom option which lets you specify a preference for price and/or minimum and maximum limits for the price.

price to ema ratios

The price to ema ratios group contains several ratios of most recent closing price to an exponential moving average of the closing price. Specifically, 10, 30, 50 and 200 day moving average ratios are provided. The fundamental screener provides three presets which search for high, neutral (average), and low ema ratios. A custom option is also provided so that you can customize preferences and/or limits for each of these ratios.

price momentum

The price momentum group provides the price momentum (most recent closing price divided by the closing price some number of trading periods ago) for several different periods. Specifically, 1 day, 1 week, 2 week, 1 month, 3 month, 6 month, and 1 year price momentums are provided. Presets are provided for 6 month "gainer" (high 6 month momentum), 6 month flat, and 6 month "loser" (low 6 month momentum). A custom option is also provided to that you can customize preferences and/or limits for all of the price momentum periods.

profit margin

The profit margin group contains a single parameter which is the profit margin (12 month net income divided by 12 month revenue, expressed as a percentage). The fundamental screener provides for three preset profit margin preferences (high, average or low) in addition to a custom option which lets you customize your preference for profit margin and/or minimum and maximum limits for this parameter.

return on assets

The return on assets group contains a single parameter which is the return on assets (12 month net income divided by total assets, expressed as a percentage). The fundamental screener provides for three preset return on assets preferences (high, average or low) in addition to a custom option which lets you customize your preference for return on assets and/or minimum and maximum limits for this parameter.

return on equity

The return on equity group contains a single parameter which is the return on equity (12 month net income divided by common equity, expressed as a percentage). The fundamental screener provides for three preset return on equity preferences (high, average or low) in addition to a custom option which lets you customize your preference for return on equity and/or minimum and maximum limits for this parameter.

sales

The sales group contains two parameters: the total sales over the last 12 months in millions of dollars and the sales per share in dollars. The fundamental screener provides for three preset sales preferences (high, average or low sales per share) in addition to a custom option which lets you specify a preference for both sales parameters and/or minimum and maximum limits for each of these parameters.

shares outstanding

The shares outstanding group contains a single parameter which is the number of shares outstanding in millions of shares. The fundamental screener provides for three preset shares outstanding preferences (high, average or low) in addition to a custom option which lets you customize your preference for shares outstanding and/or minimum and maximum limits for this parameter.

short ratio

The short ratio group contains a single parameter which is the short ratio (number of days to clear the short interest at average volume). The fundamental screener provides for three preset short ratio preferences (high, average or low) in addition to a custom option which lets you customize your preference for short ratio and/or minimum and maximum limits for this parameter.

technical indicators

The technical indicators group contains a variety of technical indicators, each evaluated using a daily chart frequency. Specific indicators are as follows:

• macd - 8-17-9 moving average convergence divergence
• mfi - 14 day money flow index
• stoc - 5-3-3 stochastics
• rsi - 9 day relative strength index
• wpr - 16 day williams %r

The fundamental screener provides for presets which search for bullish, oversold: bullish (high) values of macd and oversold (low) values for the other indicators, neutral values for all indicators, and bearish, overbought: bearish (low) values of macd and overbought (high) values for the other indicators. A custom option is provided so that you can customize preferences and/or limits for each indicator.

valuation

The valuation group allows you to screen for stocks with a specified value based upon a variety of stock valuation formulas. Note that most users prefer to screen for valuation ratios (next section) as these ratios allow for comparison of stocks with different prices. The following valuation formulas are available:

• ebo basic - basic ebo valuation
• levered beta ebo - levered beta ebo valuation
• risk proxy ebo - risk proxy ebo valuation
• peg - peg valuation
• forward p/e - forward p/e valuation
• average - average valuation

The fundamental screener has presets for high, average, and low average value as well as a custom setting which allows you to customize preferences and/or limits for each valuation type.

valuation ratios

The valuation ratios group allows you to screen for stocks with a specified price to value ratios based upon a variety of stock valuation formulas. The price used for the ratio will be the most recent closing price. The following valuation formulas are available:

• p/ebo - price / basic ebo valuation
• p/levb - price / levered beta ebo valuation
• p/proxy - price / risk proxy ebo valuation
• p/peg - price / peg valuation
• p/fpe - price / forward p/e valuation
• p/avg - price / average valuation

The fundamental screener provides three presets for the valuation ratios group: the undervalued option weights the screener results in favor of undervalued stocks (stocks with a low price/average value ratio), he overvalued options weights the screener in favor of overvalued stocks (high price/average value ratio) and the fair valued option weights the screener in favor of fairly valued stocks. A custom option is provided which allows you to customize preferences and/or limits for each valuation ratio type.

volume

The volume group contains a single parameter which is the average daily trading volume over a three month period, expressed in millions of shares. The fundamental screener provides for three preset volume preferences (high, average or low) in addition to a custom option which lets you customize your preference for volume and/or minimum and maximum limits for this parameter.