This is Optimal Finance Daily, Episode 2288.

Key Value Stock Fundamentals for Screening Stocks by Robert Farrington of TheCollegeInvester.com

and I'm your host and personal finance enthusiast, Diana Mariam.

Welcome back to another edition of Optimal Finance Daily, where I read from an article that

can help you live a life that's a bit happier and more financially sound.

So for now, let's get to today's post and start optimizing your life.

Key Value Stock Fundamentals for Screening Stocks by Robert Farrington of TheCollegeInvester.com

The hardest part of deciding where to invest is actually deciding what criteria you want to

look for in a company. I'm a huge value investor and look for solid companies that can be purchased

at a discounted price, maybe due to bad short-term news. The tricks of finding these companies

is to use a stock screener. Most online brokerages have them, as does Yahoo Finance or Money.com.

What I highlight next are some key fundamentals you may want to look at when investing in a company.

Remember, a number or ratio may look good, but it's important to understand why that number

looks good, or if it looks too good. These key value stock fundamentals will help you do just that.

Number 1. Market Capitalization While market capitalization may not matter too much

for small investors, it can play a role in the types of companies that you'll see.

I prefer to exclude micro-cap companies, which are companies that have a capitalization of

less than 300 million. The reason for this is that most are young startups, or highly volatile

companies, and as a result, it can skews some of the other measures that I like to screen by.

However, it's also important to note that micro-cap companies do make up the bulk of the stock

market. Right now, there are 5,678 micro-cap companies that are publicly traded, while there are

only 2,489 small-cap and larger companies traded. Number 2. PEG Ratio The PEG Ratio is a valuation

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