Smart Directions 12.3.15 Understanding the Stock Market
1.
2. Disclaimer
• Andreas Rauterkus is not a registered
investment advisor or broker/dealer. Readers
are advised that the material contained herein
should be used solely for informational
purposes. Andreas Rauterkus does not purport
to tell or suggest which investment securities
attendants should buy or sell for themselves.
You should always conduct your own research
and due diligence and obtain professional
advice before making any investment decision.
3. Objectives
• What are stocks and stock markets
• How to pick stocks
• What are the risks?
• What are your rights?
– As a shareholder
– As an investor
4. Stocks
• Stocks represent a partial ownership of a company
• Common stocks versus preferred stocks
– Common stock carries a voting right
– Preferred stock does not carry a voting right, but normally
receives a fixed dividend
– Preferred shareholders need to be paid before common
shareholders
• Stock price
– Amount paid for one share of stock
• Dividends
– Distribution of a company’s profit
– Generally paid quarterly
5. What Do You Need to Know
• Have the right information and know how to interpret it
• Invest for growth and value
• Things to look at:
– Earnings per share
– Price-earnings ratio
– Dividend yield
– Book value
– Return on equity
– Debt equity ratio
– Price volatility
6. Where to Get Information
SOURCE WHAT’S IN IT AND WHERE TO GET IT
COMPANY’S ANNUAL
REPORT
Basic information about the company, including audited financial data for
the most recent year and summaries of prior years is available from brokers
and the investor relations office of the company.
FORM 10-K Extensive financial data, required to be filed annually with the Securities
and Exchange Commission. Includes two years‘ worth of detailed, audited
financial balance sheets, plus a five-year history of the stock price, earnings,
dividends and other data. You can view the forms online (www.sec.gov ) or
order copies by contacting the Public Reference Branch at: U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission, 450 5th St., N.W., Room 1300, Washington,
DC 20549-0102; phone 202-551-8090;. email publicinfo@sec.gov.
ANALYSTS’ REPORT Commentaries by brokerage firms‘ research departments, containing varying
amounts of hard data to accompany the analysts‘ recommendations to buy,
sell or hold stocks followed by the firm. Available from brokers.
VALUE LINE
INVESTMENT
SURVEY
A vast collection of data, including prices, earnings and dividends,
stretching back many years, along with analysis and several unique features,
such as a ―timeliness‖ rating for each stock. Follows approximately 1,700
stocks. Available from libraries, or from Value Line ($598 a year, 13-week
trial subscriptions are $75 for the print version; 800-634-3583;
www.valueline.com.)
STANDARD & POOR’S S&P Stock Reports offer a wealth of current and historical data covering the
three major exchanges (NYSE, AMEX and Nasdaq) in three volumes that
are updated every six weeks. The monthly S&P Stock Guide is a
compendium of similar data on more than 7,500 stocks, but with no
analysts‘ commentary. The guide provides most of the hard data you need to
check out a company. Available from libraries, brokers or by subscription
from S&P (55 Water Street, New York, NY 10041; 800-221-5277;
www.standardandpoors.com ).
MERGENT
PUBLICATIONS
(formerly Moody’s
Investors Service)
Mergent publishes eight Mergent‘s Manuals containing current and
historical data on thousands of companies. The Handbook of Common
Stocks covers approximately 900 stocks, and the Dividend Record keeps
track of current dividend payments of 30,000 U.S., Canadian and significant
global securities. The Dividend Achievers guide is widely used by
individual investors. Available from Mergent Inc. (Customer Care Center-
Consumer Accounts, 10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256;
phone: 877-762-2974; fax: 800-597-3299; www.mergent.com ).
FINANCIAL
NEWSPAPERS
The stock listings of the Wall Street Journal, Barron‘s and Investor‘s
Business Daily contain current information on prices, dividends, yields and
price-earnings ratios, as do the stock listings of most daily newspapers.
What sets these three apart is the accompanying depth of coverage of the
investment markets. Available from libraries, at newsstands, online or by
subscription.
COMPUTER ONLINE
DATA BASES
America Online , CompuServe, MSN, Yahoo finance (finance.yahoo.com)
and other dot-com portals offer plenty of stock and investment information,
as do countless Internet sites, including www.kiplinger.com.
7. When To Sell Stocks
• Fundamentals change
• The dividend is cut
• You reach your target price
• Return on your stock investment
includes increases in the price and any
dividend payments
8. Avoid Common Mistakes
• Acting on tips
• Getting sentimental
• Forgetting taxes and commissions
• Failing to diversify
• Losing patience
• Buying a penny or microcap stock
9. 9
Read stock quotes
Open $26.11
High: $26.39
Low: $25.45
52-Wk Rng $ 25.60 - $ 37.50
P/E Ratio 15.13
Volume 71,527,599
• 52-Wk Rng
– Highest and lowest share
price achieved by the stock
over the past 52 weeks.
• P/E Ratio
Price-Earnings Ratio =
(Current stock
price)/(Current annual
earnings per share)
• Volume
Volume of shares traded
yesterday (in 100s)
Microsoft Corporation
(MSFT) NASDAQ
$26.03 $+0.05 +0.19%
10. 10
Alternative views of stock pricing
• Fundamental Finance View:
– Stock prices are largely determined by the true
financial conditions of firms, as reflected in their
profits, market power, R&D prospects, etc.
• Behavioral Finance View:
– Stock prices are strongly affected by market
psychology:
1. “irrational exuberance” or pessimism;
2. “beauty contest” guesses about the most attractive
stocks to buy based on what other people are buying or
selling (fads, herd following, …).
11. 11
Stock exchanges
• New York Stock Exchange
(NYSE, "Big Board" )
• NASDAQ
(National Association of Securities Dealers
Automated Quotation System) electronic
trading system
• Dow Jones and S&P 500 indexes
• listed companies
– When a firm go public, it does not add to its debt.
Instead, it brings in additional “owners” who supply
it with funds.
12. 12
Rights of shareholders
• Shareholders (stockholders) have ownership
interest in the company proportional to shares
owned.
– Large shareholder vs. small shareholders
• Rights include:
1. rights to be ‘residual claimants’
2. voting rights influence management
13. Investment Scams, Schemes and Swindles
• Financial swindles cost $40 billion each year
• Nobody is immune
• Spot and avoid scams
• Most often greed and fear are appealed to
14. Types of Investment Fraud
• Pyramid schemes
– Receive money for recruiting new members
• Ponzi scheme
– Money from new investors is used to pay off earlier
investors
– Madoff scandal
• Precious medals
• Stock swindles
– “penny stock” investments
• Phony international investments
• Affinity fraud
• Bogus franchise and business opportunities
15. How Do Regulators Help?
• Report scam attempts to the proper authorities
• How to report investment fraud schemes:
– Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)
» www.finra.org
» http://brokercheck.finra.org/
– US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
» www.sec.gov
– State securities commissions