Importing Financial Web Data into Excel, part 2

MS Excel is an excellent tool for performing fundamental analysis. One problem that arises is collecting the data in a spreadsheet so that analysis can be applied. Entering by hand is painstakingly tedious. Copy-paste works if it’s a possibility, yet reformatting can be a headache. An incredible tool that imports financial data from the web into MS excel is the Stock Market Function Add-in developed by Randy Harmelink.

See my previous article http://financial-alchemist.blogspot.com/2007/08/using-excel-to-import-financial-data.html

The add-in can be retrieved from his yahoo group. Installation is simple. Create a folder called SMF Add-in in your program files folder on the c: drive. Download the add-in from Mr. Harmelink’s site and save inside that folder you just created. Then launch Excel, go to tools-> add-ins-> and browse for the add-in and install it, more detailed instructions are available at the yahoo group. The links are listed below.

Mr. Harmelink’s Excel Stock Market Function Add-in is located in the files section on this website: http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/smf_addin/
It’s a yahoo group where members discuss ideas and share spreadsheets.

Additionally, Models I have created that use this add-in are posted in the files section at this yahoo group:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stock_analysis_group/

At this website you can find various spreadsheets I have created that automatically import company data. The SMF Add-in can be downloaded from here as well. Just look in the files section.

A particular model I want to highlight is the EPS_Estimates_MultiSource_v5 that you can download from the files section.

Following trends in analysts’ EPS estimates can be a valuable tool. Research suggests that companies experiencing downward revisions will likely receive more in the future. This spreadsheet shows the trends in EPS revisions. In addition, the model tracks historical EPS announcements. This can be valuable information too, especially if the company has been surprising on the upside and estimates have just started to be revised upward. This may depict a situation where The Street hasn’t fully grasped the potential earnings growth. This may lead to an undervalued situation if there is evidence that growth is underestimated and not priced into the stock.

Download the SMF Add-in and check out the EPS Estimates model.