How to Buy Shares in Media Companies

For those that want to diversify their portfolio, they should consider the media industry for stock market bargains. This industry has some great companies that have good historical earnings. This industry includes TV and cable networks, radio, film and movie companies and national newspapers. Stocks for various other subcategories, including Internet and Web 2.0 companies and publishing giants may also be attractive investments. With so many sectors and companies to choose from, look closely at this industry to spot winning investments.

Instructions

1. Research industry leaders at Yahoo! Finance. Yahoo! does not aggregate the sectors into one list. However, you can view information about stocks in each industry sector by drilling down from the "Services" industry hyperlink. Here you can see the top performers in cable, radio, TV and other media sectors like film. You can also see which company's shares are not performing well in trading.

2. Use the Yahoo! drop-down boxes to investigate the leaders and losers further. You can review each company's price earnings ratio, total revenue, dividends and other indicators that will help you assess the true financial health of each company. Click on the stock ticker symbol to see which stock exchange lists the company's shares.

3. Look for bargains within the industry on shares from new and established companies. Some Blue Chip media stocks are currently selling below $10 per share because of the market volatility and industry changes. However, the real performers will not stay at that price for a very long time.

4. Compare the top five performers in each sector of the industry to each other. Some sectors that have traditionally had good earnings like radio, TV and newspapers, are experiencing continued declines in their market shares, while earnings for Internet focused companies are increasing.

5. Read media industry news to get some clues about which sectors of the industry are declining or troubled. These are stocks that you may not want to invest in, unless there is some compelling information that indicates possible turnarounds.

6. View additional publicly traded media companies in the Yahoo! company index. The indexes list companies, alphabetically by sector. Click the hyperlinks for each company to get a snapshot of that company's activities, product range and primary competitors.

7. Select an industry sector that has outperformed the other sectors in recent years. Narrow your investment choices down to a few companies that have had good historical performance. Look at their most recent SEC filings, their 52-week highs and lows, and their capitalization.

8. Get advice on your potential investments from a competent broker who has experience with media industry stocks. Purchase your shares of media company stock through a reputable brokerage firm that trades on major stock exchanges like the American Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. You will find some media companies on the NASDAQ and OTC pink sheets.

Resources

• Media industry sectors and company lists
• Sources for finding brokers