How to Buy Home Depot Stock

Purchasing stocks has been made easier with the advent of the Internet. Buying a certain stock, in this case that of Home Depot, requires general investigation and knowledge.

Things You'll Need

• Access to the Internet
• Telephone book

Instructions

1. Find a broker on-line. Go to a search engine (e.g., Google, Ask, Bing, or Yahoo!) and enter "buy stocks" or "stock trading sites" in the search bar. Some sites include popular on-line companies like E-trade and more traditional and well-known companies like Fidelity. If you don't feel comfortable trading on-line, look up "stock brokers" in your Yellow Pages and call a local broker.

2. Set up an account. If dealing with a stock broker, he or she will help you through the process. If you go through an online site, it is a step-by-step process, and there will be a secured form to take your personal information. Once you've set up an account and made your initial deposit, you're ready to buy.

3. Search the New York Stock Exchange, either on-line or in a daily newspaper. You can find the NYSE stocks on various financial Web sites, including Google, Yahoo, MSN Money, and AOL.

4. You must know the stock symbol for Home Depot before making the purchase. All companies are represented by symbols on the New York Stock Exchange, and Home Depot's symbol is HD.

5. Find the Home Depot stock on the stock ticker. The stock ticker is the list of stocks, their current or recent price and volume of stock (number of shares) traded for a certain period of time. Search for the Home Depot (HD) stock on your e-broker ticker page.

6. Place your order. You can do this by visiting the "place the order" or "order" page. On this page, place your order by entering your stock symbol (HD) and how many shares of stock you're purchasing. Once you've made your purchase, you'll be directed to a confirmation page displaying how many Home Depot shares you've purchased as well as the total price of the shares purchased.

   .

Tips & Warnings

• Consider what is called a stop-loss order. When purchasing your Home Depot stock, you can place an order so that if the stock dips to a certain price it will sell, limiting your losses. You can place a stop-loss with your broker or through your on-line trading services. If you're ordering on-line, ensure to have enough funds in your brokerage account to purchase your stock. Conversely, you can move the funds earned from the sale of your stock to your bank account.

References

• CNN Money
• The Wall Street Journal

Resources

• E-trade