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Stocks: How To Read Stock
Quotes
Columns 1
& 2: 52-Week Hi and Low -
These are
the highest and lowest prices at which a stock has traded over the
previous 52 weeks (one year). This typically does not include the
previous day's trading.
Column 3: Company Name & Type of Stock - This column lists the
name of the company. If there are no special symbols or letters
following the name, it is common
stock. Different symbols imply different classes of shares. For
example, "pf" means the shares are
preferred stock.
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Stock Quotes on a Financial Newspaper |
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Column 4: Ticker Symbol - This is the unique alphabetic name
which identifies the stock. If you watch financial TV such as MSNBC, you'll
probably have seen the ticker tape
move across the screen, quoting the latest prices alongside this symbol.
If you are looking for stock quotes online, you always search for a
company by the ticker symbol. If you don't know what a particular
company's ticker is you can search for it at:
http://finance.yahoo.com/l.
Column 5: Dividend Per Share - This indicates the annual
dividend
payment per share. If this space is blank, the company does not
currently pay out dividends.
Column 6: Dividend
Yield - The percentage return on the dividend. Calculated as
annual dividends per share divided by price per share.
Column 7:
Price/Earnings Ratio - This is calculated by dividing the
current stock price by earnings per share from the last four quarters.
For example if the company earns $1 per share for the last four quarters
and if the price of the stock is $10, you'll have a P/E ratio of 10 ($10
divided by $1).
Column 8: Trading Volume - This figure shows the total number of
shares traded for the day, listed in hundreds. To get the actual number
traded, add "00" to the end of the number listed.
Column 9 & 10: Day High & Low - This indicates the price range at
which the stock has traded at throughout the day. In other words, these
are the maximum and the minimum prices that people have paid for the
stock.
Column 11: Close - The close is the last trading price recorded
when the market closed on the day. If the closing price is up or down
more than 5% than the previous day's close, the entire listing for that
stock is bold-faced. Keep in mind, you are not guaranteed to get this
price if you buy the stock the next day because the price is constantly
changing (even after the exchange is closed for the day). The close is
merely an indicator of past performance and except in extreme
circumstances serves as a ballpark of what you should expect to pay.
Column 12: Net Change - This is the dollar value change in the
stock price from the previous day's closing price. When you hear about a
stock being "up for the day," it means the net change was positive.
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Stock Quotes on the Internet |
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Quotes on the internet:
Nowadays,
it's far more convenient for you to get stock quotes off the Internet.
This method is superior because most sites update throughout the day and
give you more information such as news, charting, options, financials, research, etc.
To get quotes, simply enter the ticker symbol into the quote box of any
major financial site like Yahoo
Finance or CBS
Marketwatch.. If you don't know the symbol you'll be able to
search using the name of the company. The example on the left shows a quote for Microsoft
(MSFT) from Yahoo Finance. Interpreting the data is exactly the same as
with the newspaper. It ended the day with a price of $50.05. The lowest
price of the day was $49.996 and highest price of the day was $52.676.
It also has the 52 week low and high, volume, P/E ratio, etc. If you
want to know more about the company just click on the appropriate links
below for Chart, Financials, Historical Prices, Insider, etc.
Related Link:
Frequently Asked
Questions on Stocks
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Table of Contents for Stocks
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