How to Find Value Stocks With the Z-Score and Piotroski Scale

This column was originally published in two parts on RealMoney: part one on Feb. 21, 2008, at 3:44 p.m. EDT and part two on Feb. 22, 2008, at 2:44 p.m. EDT. Both parts are being republished in one column as a bonus for TheStreet.com readers. For more information about subscribing to RealMoney, please click here.

Two Ways to Check Your Stocks' Credit Scores

If you watch any television at all, you probably can't escape those unbelievably obnoxious commercials for credit reports . I mean, I feel for the guy in the ad, working in a tourist-trap fish joint, living in his wife's parents' basement and driving a beater, all because he failed to keep track of his credit score , but enough already!

Obnoxious as they are, the commercials do make a good point. Keeping track of the changes in your credit score is a good idea, and everyone should do it. Tracking the changes can help you see what you are doing right, as well as wrong, with your financial habits. Now, if it makes sense for your personal finances, doesn't it make sense to do the same with your stock portfolio? ...