Dividend Stock Screener

Dividend Screener Guide

Many investors turn to dividend investing as a way to generate steady cash flow from their portfolios over time. Instead of relying solely on stock price appreciation, this approach focuses on companies that return a portion of their profits to shareholders through regular cash payments called dividends.

The challenge is volume: there are thousands of public companies, and many pay dividends.

A dividend screener helps investors cut through the noise by narrowing the market to dividend-paying stocks that fit specific income goals. Rather than reviewing companies one by one, investors can filter and compare stocks using dividend-focused metrics like yield, payout ratio, dividend growth, payment schedule, and key dividend dates.

By organizing this data into a single, sortable view, a dividend screener saves time, keeps research focused, and encourages more objective decision-making. It’s most effective when investors have a clear idea of what they’re looking for—whether that’s higher income today, growing dividends over time, or a balance of yield and sustainability.

For example:

• If you want higher income today, you might focus on yield and payment schedule.
• If you want income that grows over time, you might prioritize dividend growth history and sustainable payout ratios.
• If you want to reduce the risk of a cut, you might screen for more conservative payout ratios and compare multiple dividend metrics side by side.

A screener doesn’t replace research, but it’s a fast way to find candidates that are worth a closer look.

How to Use the MarketBeat Dividend Screener

MarketBeat’s Dividend Screener is free to use. If you want to save a screener setup and return to it later, you’ll need to be logged in. 

At the top of the screener page, you’ll find options to open saved screeners, save your current setup, or switch to full-screen view—useful when working with multiple columns or comparing several dividend metrics at once.

1. Customize filters and columns

The Customize Screener section is the control center for building your dividend screen. From here, you can reset filters, open the Add Filters & Columns menu, and control how dividend data appears in your results.

Click Add Filters & Columns, then open the Dividend category to select dividend-specific filters and columns.

Common dividend filters and columns include:

• Annual dividend amount
• Annual dividend yield
• Dividend growth rates
• Payout ratio
• Dividend payment schedule
• Ex-dividend and payout dates

You can toggle columns on or off and adjust their order to keep the results table focused and easy to compare.

2. Set criteria, result size, and sorting

Once filters and columns are added, configure them directly on the main screener page:

• Choose how many stocks appear in results
• Select how results are sorted (such as dividend yield or market capitalization)

As you refine your screen, you can:

• Set minimum or maximum dividend yield values
• Filter for consistent or growing dividends
• Focus on sustainable payout ratios
• Limit results to a manageable number

Results update automatically as filters are applied, allowing you to refine your screen in real time.

3. Review, compare, and export results

The results table displays dividend stocks that meet your criteria, along with key income metrics like yield, payout ratio, dividend growth, and payment schedule.

You can sort results by clicking column headers and export the table to Excel for deeper analysis or portfolio planning.