With thousands of companies offering their stocks, picking the right one can feel like finding a small needle in a haystack. Thankfully, there are stock screeners that make the cumbersome task of analysing stocks and selecting good ones easy and frictionless. In simple words, what takes a trader 4-5 hours with manual screening, can be done in a matter of minutes with the right stock screener in India. But getting started with a stock screener can be a bit overwhelming, especially when you’re a beginner. But not any more!

We have prepared this step-by-step guide to help you get started. So, without any further delay, let’s begin!

Stock Screeners make analysing stocks easy and quick.

What is a stock screener?

For those who still don’t know what a stock screener is, it is a tool or rather software that helps you find the best stock after sifting through thousands of them. The best stock screeners come with a variety of advanced features and functionalities that can be used for making mindful investments. The biggest advantage of using this tool is that it helps you make decisions irrespective of your emotions and behaviour.

Talking about the working, a basic stock screener in India covers the most commonly used stock analysis metrics like P/E ratio, market gap, close price, etc. You can easily sort down the preferred stocks based on their market gap, share volume traded, gain or loss within a particular period and so on. Apart from this, there are a lot more filters and criteria you can set for picking the most profitable stocks for you.

Getting started with a stock screener in India

While we have mentioned that using a stock screener is not that easy, it is not extremely tough as well. All you need to do is, select the right tool and practice till you get the hang of it. And since we are talking about the best stock screener in India, then don’t forget to check out the Tickertape stock screener.

Here are few simple steps for using a stock screener:

Create account and login

First things first, create your account on the selected stock screener in India and then log in. Most screeners work in the same fashion, so according to a  generalised process, once you login to the software, you’ll find a screen with multiple options and filters. You’ll also see a selection of stocks on the basis of their performance and if the screener is advanced, it will also display the live prices of stocks.

Create your custom screen

Creating a custom screen is always a better idea in order to keep an eye on your most favourite stocks. To create your custom screen, look for the “Create Screen” or “Create Custom Screen” option. On clicking this option, you’ll find a list of top stocks along with their details such as PC ratio, market gap, closing price, etc. Now, all you need to do is pick the desired stocks and add them to your custom screen.

Screen the stocks

If you don’t wish to create a custom screen, you can directly use a screen to filter out the best stocks. To do this, select the criteria based on your investment objectives and goals and you’ll be displayed with all the stocks that fit into that criteria. For example: if you’re looking for cash-rich large caps or low-debt midcaps, then select these options and all the stocks falling into these categories will be displayed on your screen. Further, you can also adjust filters while doing so.

Find new investment ideas using a stock screener

Time is money. So, you shouldn’t be wasting it while going through thousands of stocks without having any idea about them. Fortunately, a stock screener tool offers a range of objectives based on the criteria you’ve selected. You can put this information to better use by :

• Thorough Research: compare the stocks with similar securities directly on your screen. Explore more about the company, its history, the events that impacted its growth by using the available options to the fullest.
• Use Watchlist: Create your watch list by picking the stocks that you want to monitor before making a final decision.
• Save screen: Use the save screen feature to save the preferred criteria for future reference. It will allow you to speed up the screening process next time.

Do your homework

Stock screeners surely make the best tool for investors to start their analysis on a particular stock or equity, but this is not all. A responsible investor should prepare himself by doing deep research and leveraging the capabilities of the right screener. So, take your time and do your homework nicely before making the final investment.

To do this, consider what your investment goals are and how you want to accomplish them. Not only that, but you should also take into account other factors such as budget, charges, risks, etc. before making an investment. The key is to extract as much information about the company as possible.

So, this was our guide on how to use a stock screener in India. Just follow these simple steps and choose the right tool, you’ll surely be able to make profitable investments.