Before using our stock screener it is essential that you fully understand our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy. Our ratings are based on data supplied by sources we believe to be reliable, but which may contain material inaccuracies. Note also that our ratings are based purely on a small number of quantitative data points; they do not reflect non-quantitative and/or subjective data – nor do they reflect developments occurring after the most recent ratings revision date. We emphasize that these ratings are solely intended to point users in the direction of investments that may warrant further scrutiny. In no way are they intended, in and of themselves, to constitute recommendations or personalized investment advice. Users who do not independently and thoroughly vet the stocks we rate are particularly likely to incur significant losses. Officers, employees and clients of BrainFutures.com, Inc. and Oyster River Financial, LLC may be long or short the stocks we rate, as well as buy or sell them at any time without notice to stock screener users. Seeking Alpha recommendations do not necessarily reflect the opinions of anyone other than their authors.
If I want to get your rating on a stock my broker recommends (Facebook, for instance), how do I do that?
There are two ways to get our rating in this situation. You can enter Facebook’s ticker symbol (FB) where our user input form asks for a ticker. Or you can enter “Facebook” in the box that asks for a company name.
How does your stock screener work?
Our stock screener allows users to filter the universe of stocks we rate according to a variety of criteria. These criteria include:
1. Rating. Users may input integers between 1 and 10. When a 10 is entered, our search results display only companies whose likely returns (according to our algorithms) rank in the highest 10% of the companies we rate. Entering a 1 gives the user companies whose likely returns rank in the lowest 10% of the companies we rate. Leaving this box blank allows companies of all ratings to be returned.
2. Editors’ Picks (EP). Seeking Alpha’s editors designate research articles of special merit as Editors’ Picks. Users may select “exists” in this box to focus their searches on companies mentioned in recent Editors’ Picks. Clicking on icons displayed in the EP column of search results brings users to these articles on the Seeking Alpha site.
3. Long Ideas (LI). These are Seeking Alpha articles that recommend purchase of specific stocks. Users may select “exists” in this box to focus their searches on companies mentioned in recent buy recommendations. Clicking on icons displayed in the LI column of search results brings users to these articles on the Seeking Alpha site.
4. Short Ideas (SI). These are Seeking Alpha articles that recommend the sale of specific stocks. Users may select “exists” in this box to focus their searches on companies mentioned in recent recommendations. Clicking on icons displayed in the SI column of search results brings users to these articles on the Seeking Alpha site.
5. Market Cap Decile. Users may input integers between 1 and 10. When a 10 is entered, our search returns only companies whose market value ranks in the highest 10% of the companies we rate. Entering a “1” returns the smallest 10% of the stocks we rank. Leaving this box blank allows companies of all market cap sizes to be returned.
6. Owned. This filter is useful to those seeking to own or short stocks in which our CEO, Bill Matson, personally held a position valued at $1000 or more as of the most recent rating “Revision Date” (a date visible at the top left of the Result screen). Users may select “Long”, “Short”, or “No Position”. Leaving this box blank has the same result as selecting “No Position”.
What does it mean when a stock is rated 10 -- or a 1?
According to our rating system, the 10's represent the top 10% of stocks we rate, in terms of having the highest expected future returns. 1's are the 10% having the lowest. In general, stocks with the lowest ratios of price to book value, earnings, and sales (i.e. value stocks), as well as the highest trailing 12 month returns (i.e. high relative strength), will rate highest according to our algorithms.
Our rating system often provides contrarian results. As of 9/9/16, for instance, Facebook – a highly respected household name - had a rating of only 4. Though it had strong returns during the preceding year, its rating was penalized due to its high price relative to book value, earnings, and sales.
Large companies like Facebook have historically provided poor returns relative to small caps. This is primarily due to the premium investors pay for the safety they perceive in owning stock in large, highly visible businesses. The poor relative returns of large companies support our view that this premium is excessive.
There are thousands of publicly traded U.S.-based companies that DDIM doesn’t rate. Why is that?
We focus on companies whose financial data is compatible with the requirements of our algorithms. At this time, for instance, we cover relatively few financial services firms, since some of their most important financial indicators are ignored by our algorithms. Moreover, we have very little empirical data regarding the correlation of these indicators with future returns.
What does Rank mean?
Stocks are ranked in order of expected future returns. The stock with the highest expected future return is ranked number 1, and expected returns decrease as the numerical rank increases. That is, if we are rating 3000 stocks, the stock ranked number 3000 would have the lowest return expectation.
What are the ten market cap decile ranges?
A company's market capitalization (also referred to as market cap) is the market value of the company as calculated by multiplying the number of its shares outstanding by the current market price of a single share.
As of December 2018, the approximate minimum market caps for each of the decile ranges in our coverage universe were:
Decile 1: $2MM
Decile 2: $25MM
Decile 3: $80MM
Decile 4: $225MM
Decile 5: $500MM
Decile 6: $1B
Decile 7: $1.7B
Decile 8: $3B
Decile 9: $6.5B
Decile 10: $17B
How timely is DDIM’s research?
As is the case with recommendations provided by brokerage firms, our ratings may be misleading when they fail to reflect recent news and price moves. It’s always a good idea to check Seeking Alpha, Yahoo Finance, and/or company websites for important developments before placing orders.
Do you own the stocks you rate?
We often hold long or short positions in the stocks we rate or in their derivative securities.
Are there any other kinds of information accessible through the DDIM system?
By clicking on the name or ticker symbol of a company displayed in Results, you can access a library of previous Seeking Alpha articles focused on that company, as well as a wide variety of other information, including:
1. research from non-Seeking Alpha sources,
2. news stories,
3. earnings history, and
4. SEC filings
When I attempt to access Seeking Alpha articles through DDIM, I am unable to read the entire article. Why is this?
Some Seeking Alpha articles are only available in their entirety to those who subscribe to Seeking Alpha PRO.
To access other Seeking Alpha articles and services that are not reserved for PRO subscribers, it is necessary for you to register as a Seeking Alpha user. At this time (January 2019), there is no cost associated with registering for a basic Seeking Alpha account.
When I click on a company’s EP, LI, or SI icon, I often get sent to articles that do not focus on the company. Why is that?
You are correct in that the articles brought to your attention do not necessarily focus on the companies you’re researching. Rather, they will often contain mention of these companies in the context of analyzing other companies’ competitive positions or other industry factors. Looking at a company from the perspective of authors who are writing about its competitors can very often reveal unexpected and important data points for you to consider.
We believe this feature is a valuable complement to the Seeking Alpha company-focused libraries which are accessible by clicking on the name or ticker symbol of a company displayed in Results.