A little over a month ago I joined Simply Safe Dividends as CTO (the “tech guy”). After speaking with dozens of customers by phone, trading hundreds of emails with customers, and going through a crash course in analyzing dividend stocks, I’ve set out to make a bevy of improvements to the website.
First up was the Stock Screener. This baby was a behemoth with over 40 financial metrics and dozens of data points in the results table. It was powerful but frankly unusable by most people.
So Brian and I designed a new Basic Stock Screener that would yield useful results right away with little to no configuration. I’ve already used the new Screener myself and discovered a great company (Southern Company) to invest in that would’ve gotten lost in mountain of data in the old Screener.
Here’s the new Stock Screener:
We whittled down the Screener to just a few key metrics:
- Sector, in case you need to diversify your portfolio
- Dividend Yield. The default is 3 to 4.5%, which is the range most retired folks are gunning for. Anything higher than 4.5% can turn up some iffy companies.
- Safety Score. This is our proprietary metric, and we recommend retirees stick with companies that score above 60 for Dividend Safety. You can read about the performance and track record of Dividend Safety Scores here.
- Dividend Growth Streak. It’s comforting to know that a company has shown a commitment to paying and growing its dividend, so we’ve opted to show companies that’ve grown its dividend at least five years in a row.
These default filters are a great place to start for any retiree living off dividend income, but you’re welcome to adjust them based on personal preference. You may, for example, seek a yield higher than 4.5%, but you should do so understanding that these higher-yielding companies require more scrutiny.
Now, you may on occasion need to filter by more parameters than are offered by the new basic Screener. No problem, we’ve got you covered: you can always revert to the Advanced Screener, which is untouched from the previous version and has over 40 options for filtering.
We think you’ll enjoy using the new Screener. Hopefully you quickly unearth a new idea or two!
There are always ways to find a lot more information but to have it all in one place and make it looks easy and presentable is a challenging task. Thank you for providing this to us, I will be sure to take a look and see how it all functions. Appreciate you doing this, Cheers
Please let me know how it goes!
Way to go CTO! The Advanced Screener, as you quite correctly observed, was unusable to anyone not wishing to bury themselves in a maze of metrics of questionable assistance. The defaults you identified were good choices. Give me a chance to work with the new Basic Screener. If I come up with any worthwhile observations I’ll be back.
Caution on Southern [SO] … it has a speckled project history and future; to wit, probleatic Kemper County Coal Gasification and Vogtle Nuclear Plants. Over-due and over-budget are just two unappealing challenges. Additionally, dependency on Toshiba’s nuclear capabilities further clouds the future. Just one non-expert investor’s concerns.
Regards, Kent
Didn’t think it could get any better! Thanks for the update and the new tweeks… I’ll definitely have some fun this weekend!
A job well done!
It would be REALLY nice if the blue background header (ticker, industry, market cap, safety score, etc.) was “floating” such that it (the header) could be seen when scrolling down to any stock, not just the first dozen or so. It is sometimes difficult to remember that ROE is in the 14th column, necessitating scrolling back up to the top, finding the desired column, then scrolling back down to find the desired stock. How about it? Thanks
I hear you on this issue. It should be much easier to read search results from the new Basic Screener. Only a few important, high-level metrics are shown. Once you get down to the nitty-gritty of analyzing a company’s return on equity, then you’re probably best off clicking on that company and focusing on that company alone.
Hi Brian & Matt,
Great job! The new screener is fantastic & much easier to use than the advanced screener. One question: Since the 5 year CAGR indicates Total Return, I assume that it includes dividends and stock price increase. Am I correct? Thanks again for such a practical & useful tool.
Best regards,
Doc
Doc, are you referring to the “5yr Dividend Growth” column in the results table? If so, that’s the average annual growth rate of the company’s dividend over the past 5 years.
That’s different than total return, which adds together a stock’s gain (or loss) and any dividends paid. For example, if a stock yielded 4% in dividends in 2016 and its price gained 6%, then total return would be 10%.
Over the long run, stock price gains should follow dividend growth, since both follow earnings growth.
Hi Matt,
Thank you for your prompt response!
I am referring to the last item in the column drop down menu…5 year Total Return CAGR. Does that include both changes in the price of the stock & the dividends paid during the past 5 years? I assume that it does, but I would appreciate if you could clarify it for me.
Thanks again,
Doc
Doc, you’re correct. Total Return CAGR includes both dividends paid and any gains or losses in the stock price. You can read more here:
https://www.thebalance.com/calculate-compound-annual-growth-rate-357621
Hi guys! Really good job—congrats. What I particularly like is the fact that you kept the original “Advanced Screener” intact, in case one needs more specifics. Rick
Love the new screener! Was too overwhelmed by the advanced screener to use it.