Safety rating

The Safety rating is a 0 to 100 score of how financially sturdy a company is and how safe its dividend looks. It answers one question: how resilient are this company's balance sheet and its dividend. This page explains what the score shows, the kinds of evidence behind it, and how to read it and the health indicators beside it. The Safety score lives in the GNG Scoring and Valuation panel, which requires the Pro plan. Free and Pro Lite accounts see an upgrade prompt.

Before you begin

Sign in on a Pro account. The score and its underlying data are returned only to Pro and above.
Open a company page by ticker first. For the steps, see Look up a company.

What it shows

The Safety Score appears as a percentage in the Quality and Safety block of the scoring panel. Three widely recognized financial health indicators sit alongside it. These are standard academic models, not GNG Research scores: the Piotroski F-Score, the Altman Z-Score, and the Beneish M-Score.

Inputs

The score takes no input. It is precomputed per company. The Safety score weighs several categories of financial sturdiness, including the following.

The company's ability to cover its interest costs from earnings.
The health of its debt load and leverage.
How comfortably its earnings and cash flow cover the dividend.
The length and consistency of its dividend track record.
How heavily the stock is sold short by the market.

GNG Research calibrates these to the company's sector, because a utility, a bank, and an energy producer should not be judged by identical standards. Stable, defensive business models can earn modest credit, and some higher-risk sectors are treated more conservatively. The exact way the categories are weighted, capped, and adjusted by sector is proprietary and is not published.

Outputs and how to read them

The Safety score runs from 0 to 100. Higher means a sturdier balance sheet and a safer dividend.
A higher Safety score also means a company needs a smaller discount to Fair Value before the valuation model treats it as attractive, because the model demands less margin of safety from a sturdier company. For the buy zones it drives, see Fair value and valuation.
If too little of the underlying data is available, the score is left blank rather than guessed.

Health indicators

Three screening indicators from academic models sit next to the score.

Piotroski F-Score (0 to 9): labeled High, Medium, or Low. Higher is better.
Altman Z-Score: reads as Safe, Gray Zone, or Distress, with higher values safer.
Beneish M-Score: reads as No Warning or Possible Manipulation, where a lower value is the favorable reading.

These are screening heuristics, not verdicts, and they can misfire on unusual business models.

Data and timing

The score is built from AlphaVantage fundamentals and dividend history plus filing facts sourced through EDGAR, recomputed on a regular schedule after the close.

Use cases

Judge dividend durability before buying a stock for income.
Compare balance-sheet strength across several candidates.
Flag companies whose accounting signals deserve a closer look before you commit.

Limitations and disclosures

The score leans on dividend and balance-sheet data, so non-dividend payers or thinly reported companies can score blank or be harder to assess. The health indicators are academic screens and can misfire on unusual business models. This section presents a rating and carries the disclosure below.

GNG Research provides equity research and educational tools, not investment advice. Nothing on the platform is a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Do your own research and consider your circumstances before making any investment decision.