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How to Read a Stock Quote



In addition to the actual stock price, there are various measures used to analyze the value of an individual stock in comparison to similar companies. These include:

Market Capitalization

The number of shares in issue multiplied by the share price, to give the overall value of the company

Dividend Yield

The annual dividend payout as a percentage of the share price.

EPS

Earnings per share measures the total earnings of the company divided by the number of shares in issue. The higher the EPS the better value the share price is.

Dividend Cover

The EPS divided by the dividend. This shows how easy it is for the company to afford to pay that dividend from current earnings. The higher the dividend cover, the better. A high number is also an indication that the company could afford to pay higher dividends in the future.

P/E ratio

This measures the ratio of the price of the shares to the net income or profit of a company. It measures the number of years of those earnings it would take for the company to pay back that purchase price.

PEG

The Price/Earnings to Growth ratio is a variation of the P/E ratio that factors in the expected growth rate of a company. The P/E ratio will usually be higher for a company with a higher growth rate. By dividing that number by the growth rate, a better comparison for high growth companies is obtained. As with the P/E ratio, the lower the number, the more undervalued the shares.

P/B ratio

A measure of the current market price compared to its book value. The book value is calculated by subtracting the company's liabilities from its tangible asset value. The lower the share price in comparison to the book price, the better value the shares will be.

To go to the quote page for any stock on sharewise, enter the company name or stock symbol in the quote search box located on the top right of any page.

 

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