> Evaluating Stocks

Fundamental Analysis Tools - These are the tools of fundamental analysis
Fundamental analysis relies on several tools to give investors an accurate picture of the financial health of a company and how the market values the stock.

Earnings Per Share - How to Calculate EPS
Earnings per share or EPS is one way to compare companies, but it does not tell you about market value.

Be Careful of Investing in Safe Stocks
Investors often turn to safe stock sectors such as utilities during difficult economic times, but not every company in safe sectors are good investments.

No Bad Time to Invest in Growth Stocks
You can find growth stocks in almost any market, but you may have to look harder in some markets than others.

Look for Stocks with Earnings Growth
Companies that show a consistent growth in earnings make attractive investment candidates for stock investors.

Use R&D Spending in Evaluating Stock
Research and development is important to every company, since that's where new products and services are created.

Price Earnings Ratio - How P/E is Calculated
The Price to Earnings Ratio is one of the most important numbers analysts look at to understand how the market values a stock.

Beating the Stock Market - Why you may want to Judge your Stock Investments Differently
Beating the market with your stock investments may not be the best goal for your portfolio.

PEG - How PEG is Calculated
PEG ratio provides investors a way to calculate how much future earnings growth is going to cost based on the stock's P/E and projected earnings growth rate.

Price to Sales Ratio - How to Calculate the P/S
The Price to Sales ratio is a tool for evaluating companies with no earnings that looks at how the market values the company's sales.

Price to Book Ratio - How to calculate P/B
The Price to Book ratio is a way to determine how the market values the book value of a company based on the current market price.

Dividend Payout Ratio - How to calculate dividend payout ratio
The dividend payout ratio looks at what percentage of a company's earnings are paid out to shareholders in the form of dividends.

Use these Simple Calculations to Determine Return on Your Investments
You can use a few simple calculations to determine how your investments are performing and what they are returning.

Dividend Yield - How to Calculate Dividend Yield
Dividend Yield tells you what percentage return a company pays out in the form of dividends.

Watch Debt when Evaluating Stocks - Debt should Figure in your Evaluation of an Stock
Companies with heavy debt loads can be at risk in markets where interest rates are rising. Here's how to evaluate stocks for debt.

Calculating Annual Compound Growth Rate of your Stock Investments
The Annual Compound Growth Rate of your investments is important because it takes into account the time value of money as well as price changes.

Tools Help You Evaluate Stocks for Debt - Too much Debt makes Stocks Vulnerable
Too much debt can make a company vulnerable to rising interest rates. Here are two tools to help you evaluate stocks for too much debt.

Book Value - How to Calculate Book Value
Book value of a company is the assets minus liabilities.

Three Influences on Stock Prices - Fundamentals, Sectors, and Markets Affect Stock Prices
There are three main influences on a stock's price: business fundamentals, its sector or industry, and market conditions.

What makes a Great Stock - Three Characteristics of a Great Company
Great stocks and great companies have several traits that distinguish them from the rest of the pack.

Short-Interest Ratio can Help you Evaluate Stocks
The short-interest ratio tells you whether your stock is an active target of short sellers

Return on Equity - How to Calculate Return on Equity
Return on equity tells investors how efficiently a company is using its assets to generate earnings.

Using Cash Flow to Value Stocks - The Importance of Cash Flow Analysis
Cash is vital to a company's health and its ability to generate cash can be used to see if the market under or over-values the stock. For many, these metrics are better than P/E for that purpose.

Why Per-Share Price is Not Important
Market cap is more important than per-share price because market cap tells you the value of the company.

Advance/Decline Numbers - Understanding Advance/Decline Numbers and How to Use them
Advance/Decline numbers give you a feel for the "breadth" of the market and provide another piece of information in addition to indexes.

Checking a Stock's Relative Strength - Why a Stock's Relative Strength is Important
Relative strength measures a stock's performance against the rest of the market and is helpful in evaluating investments.

It's the Earnings
Earnings are the single most important factor in stock evaluation for many investors. Although there are other factors to consider, earnings must be near or at the top of every investor's list of important checkpoints.

Institutional Ownership of Stocks - How Important is Institutional Ownership of Stocks?
The actions of the institutional owners of a stock can tell you something about the quality of the stock - sometimes you can believe it.

Cash Flow is Important in Evaluating Stocks - Investors should use Cash Flow as Stock Picking Tool
Cash flow is an important tool for investors in evaluating stocks for investment.

Interest Rates Important - Stock Valuations and Interest Rates are Linked
Changes in interest rates effect stock valuations in a fundamental way by changing the required return.

Understanding Stock's Beta - How Beta Ratio is Used and Misused
A stock's beta ratio is a useful tool for measuring risk, but it does have some serious limitations.

Dividend Yield Trap - Watch Out for Stocks with High Dividend Yields
Stocks with high dividend yields may be a smart buy, but they may also be a trap. Always check the other fundamentals before making an investment decision.

Using Price Sales Ratio - How to Value a Stock Using the Sales Price Ratio
The sales/price ratio provides a metric for measuring the relative value of a stock's price when compared to industry peers. It is used along with price/earnings ratio.

Evaluating Stocks by Measuring Management Effectiveness
How well is management making use of the company's resources? The answer can tell you a lot about whether you want to own the stock or not.

Cash is King - Why Operating Cash Flow is an Important Tool
Operating cash flow measures how cash is generated in a company and whether the company is taking in more or less than it is spending.

Value Line
Value Line has been compiling and publishing information of companies for many years and they have successfully made the transition to the Internet. Much of the information is only available to subscribers, but if you are a serious investor it's worth looking into a subscription.

SEC Filings & Forms (EDGAR)
Anyone interested in investing in stocks should get to know EDGAR. EDGAR is the electronic access through the SEC to all the forms and reports companies must file. It's a great way to check up on a company without waiting for your broker or the company to send you the information (annual reports, etc.) you need.

SmartMoney University
SmartMoney has a helpful portion of its site devoted to articles on a variety of investing topics, including strategic investing.

Morningstar: Stocks, Stock Quotes and Stock Market Research
Click on the Investing Classroon link in the lower right for information on understanding some of the financial reports associated with public companies.