Methodology

What our ratings measure and which stocks make the daily screen. Every company is rated the same way; nobody hand-picks stocks.

Ratings

• Altman Z-Score: a standard bankruptcy-risk formula. 2.99 or higher is safe, 1.81 to 2.99 is caution, below 1.81 is distress. It is less meaningful for banks, insurers, REITs and utilities.
• Piotroski F-Score: nine accounting tests, scored 0 (weak) to 9 (strong).
• Safety Grade, StockBond Score and Dividend Score: our own proprietary ratings. Higher is better.
• Dividend Years: how many years the company has paid a dividend.
• 12M Trend: share price change over 12 months. It is not the dividend yield.

The daily screen

Up to 50 operating companies (no ETFs, funds or SPACs) with a Safety Grade of A or B, an Altman Z-Score of at least 2.99 and 5+ years of dividends, ranked by StockBond Score.

Limits

Data comes from third parties and can contain errors. Past dividends don't guarantee future ones. This is not investment advice; see our Terms of Use.