How to Read Stock Market Quotes

Investing in stock market is about tracking numbers, whether they increase and decrease over time. The stock market quotes published in daily newspapers provide the most basic information about the stocks that you are interested in. Your task is to understand the numbers provided in the stock quotes. Based on these numbers, you can make decisions on whether to buy more or to sell the stocks.A table of stock market quotes often consists of 10 to 20 columns. The format may change from one newspaper to another, but there are several basic columns that are always there.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Use the "Stock" and "Ticker" columns to find the name of the company in which you are interested. The ticker symbol is a unique set of three or four characters used to identify the stock. The ticker symbol of Google is GOOG. The "Stock" column lists the names of the companies. Sometimes, you will find special symbols at the end of the stock name, which indicate the type of stock; for example, pf means preferred stock. If there are no special symbols, then it refers to common stock.

2. Track how the stock performs by reading from the " YTD % CHG" column. YTD % CHG or Year-to-Date Percentage Change indicates the percentage change in stock price from the beginning of the year. "52-Week High and Low" are the highest and lowest price of the stock over a period of one year, not counting the last day of trading. These numbers give you a sense of price fluctuations in one year.

3. Learn how well the company does in term of sharing profits by reading the numbers in the "Dividend Per Share" and "Dividend Yield" columns. These columns indicate the yearly dividend payment per share and the percentage return on the dividend. The "Price/Earnings Ratio" column is another indicator of the financial health of the company. Price/Earnings Ratio is the ratio between the current stock price and the dividend per share.

4. Consult the "Trading Volume," "Close" and "Net Change" columns to learn about trading activities related to the stock in the day. "Trading Volume" is the number of shares traded for the day. "Close" is the price of the stock at closing and "Net Change" tells you how much the stock price changes in comparison to the previous day. "Day High and Low" is similar to "52-Week High and Low" and provides you information on the highest and lowest price of the stock in the day.

5. Alternatively, follow stock quotes online. There are several convenient online tools that help you to track the performance of your stocks, for instance, Google Finance, or Yahoo Finance. These websites update the stock price every 15 to 20 minutes.