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How to Interpret a Newpapers Stock Listings
Often it is relatively easy to locate the most recent closing price of a stock that you have been following. However, when you attempt to review a newspapers financial pages it can sometimes be more difficult to obtain the meaning of the many numbers and codes that are also included. Here is a brief summary of the data that is most often provided in the financial sections of newspapers and on many commonly used websites.
In most cases the format is similar for information related to stocks which are listed on the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq Stock Market and American Stock Exchange. Each exchange uses the stocks name which is generally followed by a ticker Symbol (SYM) to identify additional information about a particular company. For example, Home Depot is truncated to (HD), Johnson & Johnson is (JNJ) and Microsoft appears as (MSFT).
52 Weeks HI LO The stock's highest and lowest closing prices over the past 52 weeks. Comparing these figures with the current price tells you where the stock is trading relative to its recent performance.
% Change The percentage change of the stock price can be listed either for the day, week or since the beginning of the year, adjusted for stock splits and dividends over 10 percent.
Dividend (DIV) The annual dividend paid by the company based on the most recent dividend paid.
Yield % (YLD) The stock's current dividend yield, which is calculated by dividing the stock's current annual dividend by its current trading price.
Price Earnings (PE ) The stock's current price/earnings ratio, often referred to as the P/E. It is calculated by dividing the stock's closing price by the per-share earnings for the most recently completed four quarters. Stocks with high P/Es (often defined as over 20) typically represent rapidly growing companies, or at least company with high growth expectations. Stocks with low P/Es' often referred to as value stocks tend to be in mature industries with more modest growth potential. They are, however, typically less volatile than high P/E stocks.
Volume (VOL 100' s) The number (volume) of shares traded, in hundreds, during the most recent trading session.
Net Change (NETCHG) The increase (+) or decrease (-) in the stock's price since the end of the previous trading day's session.
This information is presented for illustrative and informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice
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