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Step 1
Purchase a Wall Street Journal and look up the stock that you want information on. There are several columns associated with each stock that each represent different information about the stock. The third column lists the full name of the company if it fits or an abbreviated version for a long company name.
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Step 2
Check the number listed in the first column for your stock. This number represents the highest price the stock has reached in the last 52 weeks. You can compare the stock's current price to it's 52-week high to see if the stock price is close to attaining or exceeding it's highest price within the last year.
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Step 3
Read the number in the second column. This number represents the lowest price of the stock in the last 52-weeks. Compare the stock's current price to its 52-week low to see if the stock is doing relatively well.
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Step 4
Move over to the fourth column where the number listed represents the dividend of the stock. The dividend is the amount of income per share that the stock pays to investors. This is an important column for investors who are looking for income stocks that pay high dividends.
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Step 5
Proceed to the fifth column that has a percentage representing the stock's dividend yield. The dividend yield is the stock's dividend amount (from the fourth column) divided by the current price of the stock. Typically, higher dividend yields are generated by well-established companies.
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Step 6
Go on to the sixth column, representing the stock's P/E Ratio (price/earning). The P/E Ratio is calculated by dividing the stock's current price by the stock's earnings. Higher ratios are considered to be an indicator of positive future earnings growth, and it is useful to compare the same types of stocks based on their P/E Ratio.
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Step 7
Advance to the seventh column that lists the stock's volume. This shows how many shares of that stock were traded on the previous day. The column might list a "z" in front of the number, indicating that it is the actual volume for the stock. If there is no "z" in front, simply multiply the number listed by 100 to get the actual volume. An unusually high volume for a stock might indicate that something is happening with that stock, warranting further research.
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Step 8
Look at the stock's Closing Price listed in the eighth column. This is the price that the stock closed at on the previous day.
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Step 9
Conclude by checking the last column, representing the Net Change. This is the calculated net amount of how much a stock has either gone up or gone down from one day to the next. If it has gone up, the number is positive, and if it has gone down, the number is negative.
