Altman Z-Score Distress Avoidance: Free Quantitative Stock Screen
Avoid financially distressed stocks. That is the whole idea behind the Altman Z-Score Distress Avoidance screen, one of 130 ready-made strategies built into Stock Sight Finance. It checks all 3 rules below against every one of the 6,700+ US-listed stocks on Nasdaq and NYSE on this site and returns each match on live intraday quotes free of charge, with no sign-up required.
What this screen filters for
- Book value per share rule: Book value of at least $1 per share, a tangible balance sheet per share cushions the downside and supports the value case.
- Trailing P/E rule: P/E ratio of 20 or lower, keeps valuations grounded, so you pay a reasonable price for each dollar of earnings.
- Dividend yield rule: Yield of 0% or higher, screens for companies that put real cash back in your pocket every quarter.
How to use the Altman Z-Score Distress Avoidance screen
Results appear the moment the screen runs, sorted by market cap by default. Click any column header to re-sort them. Open the manual filter controls to loosen a threshold, drop a rule and re-run; each criterion above maps to a real filter, so you can turn this preset into your own variant and copy the share link to save it. Click any symbol to open its full analysis page with price history, valuation and news.
Who quantitative screens are for
Quantitative screens turn well-documented market anomalies (low volatility, mean reversion, post-earnings drift) into simple rules you can run. Each has decades of study behind it, but the edge arrives in streaks and none of them fire every month. Treat them as systematic starting points you can measure, never as black boxes.
What this screen does not tell you
A screen narrows the field. It does not judge the business. Clearing every rule above means the numbers fit this strategy rather than that the stock will rise: check why a company is cheap, read its filings, and size anything you buy accordingly. This is research tooling. It is not investment advice.
More quantitative screens: Low Vol Anomaly, Short-Term Reversal, Post-Earnings Drift and Insider Buying Signal or browse all 130 strategies.
FAQ
How many stocks does the Altman Z-Score Distress Avoidance screen search?
All 6,700+ US-listed stocks on Nasdaq and NYSE covered by Stock Sight Finance, on live intraday data. The screen returns every company that satisfies all 3 criteria at the same time, so the match list grows or shrinks as prices move through the session.
Can I change the Altman Z-Score Distress Avoidance filters?
Yes. Every rule listed above maps to a manual filter control: loosen a threshold, drop a criterion and re-run to widen the net, then copy the share link to keep your own version of the screen. The preset is a starting point, never a cage.
Is this screen free?
Yes. It runs on this page against live quotes with no sign-up required. A premium account adds the deeper layers of analysis on top: the full analysis tab, DCF valuation, analyst scenarios and SEC filing summaries.