Evaluating Stocks for Investment

Which Stocks Do You Want to Own in the Next Five Years?
Investing in stocks is about looking into th

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.

Stock's Yield Helps You Compare Buying Opportunities
A stock's yield is helpful in comparing two or more stocks as buy opportunities.

Stocks with Dividends a Good Choice
Companies that have extra cash can invest it in other companies or return some to stockholders.

Should You Own Foreign Stocks?
Globalization means you have the opportunity to invest in booming foreign economies through U.S. stocks.

Investing in Stocks for a Slow-Growth Economy
During a slow-growth economy, investors need to adopt new strategies to meet financial goals.

The Apple of Investors' I-s
How did Apple come from the brink of extinction to become the largest tech company in the U.S.?

Yield Curve Is Important to Investors in Stock Market
The yield curve is an important indicator for stock investors, but it is not the only factor to consider.

Betting on Stock Sectors
Stock sectors offer investors the opportunity to focus on a particular industry group that may profit from upcoming economic changes.

Stock Investors Have Access to Important Company Information
The SEC provides stock investors with a wealth of information.

Stock Investors Eye Growing Importance of Foreign Sales
Thanks to globalization, foreign sales information is becoming more important to stock investors.

Stock Investors Look Short and Long
Key an eye on interest rates and employment numbers

Stock Investors: Heads They Win, Tails You Lose
Be careful when investing is exotic securities - don't invest in anything you don't understand.

When Considering Stocks, Remember We'll Always Need Toilet Paper
Defensive stocks provide a measure of stability in a volatile economy.

Chasing the Newest Shiny Thing and Why That's a Bad Idea
Companies that can consistently produce more winning ideas than losing ideas is worth owning.

“A Fool and His Money Are Soon Parted”
Some foolish decisions are when you buy and other foolish decisions are when you don't buy. It's hard to know which is correct for any opportunity.

Defensive Driving for Stock Investors
The margin of error is a factor you include in your calculations for determining at what price to buy. It provides some protection against the unknown and any calculation errors.

Cash Flow to Debt Ratio Helps Spot Trouble
Cash flow to debt ratio is helpful in determining the financial strength (or weakness) of a company.

Investing in Stocks Not As Easy As It Should Be
Investing in stocks is not as easy as it should be. Knowing when to get in and when to get out is more about risk tolerance than timing.

Market Internals Take the Stock Market’s Pulse
The stock markets move in mysterious ways (or so it seems). There are some indicators known as market internals that can help you spot changes in direction.

TICK Is an Important Market Sentiment Tool
The TICK Index is a simple calculation that gives you a quick look at whether the mood of the market is to buy or to sell.

Dow Buyers and Sellers Tell a Story
The TIKI in a market internal that looks at the difference between rising and falling Dow stocks to gauge market sentiment.

The Stock Market Indicator You Never Heard Of
You can make better investment decisions if you know (or have a strong indication) when prices will reverse direction. The TRIN Index provides this information.

Finding Winning Stocks in Health Care Reform
Health care reform could create some interesting stock investment possibilities.

Cash Ratio Good Measure of Liquidity
The cash ratio tells you how easily a company can weather a difficult economy.

Know the Difference Between Value Stocks and Cheap Stocks
When virtually all stocks appear to be bargains during a bear market, it is important to identify those stocks of value.

Finding Good Stocks to Buy
One way to measure how well a company is doing involves comparing its financial ratios to peers and industry sector.

Earnings Season Reveals Much About Stocks
Earnings reports during an economic crisis may be lower than in the past, but look for the reasons. There may be more than just a bad economy at play.

Falling Inventory Levels May Be Good for Job
Falling inventories can set the stage for a recovery since businesses need inventory to sell.

A Little Research Can Help Uncover Opportunity
Identifying investing opportunities in a down market requires some research to help focus your selection process.

Back to Basics for Stock Investors
Many companies can make money in a good economy, but not all of them have a business model that will survive a downturn. Stock investors must look for companies that can survive a downturn.

Use P/E Wisely When Considering Stock Purchase
A stock's P/E is one of the most important tools investors use. Use it wisely.

Smart Stock Investors Focus on Fundamentals
Bouncing stock prices don't paint an accurate picture of a company's worth. Fundamentals are still the most important consideration in evaluating a stock.

Fear Index Can Warn Stock Investors
The VIX is often called the fear index because is measures how concerned or uncertain investors are about the future direction of the market.

Not all Stock Sectors are Equal
A rising or falling market does not take all stocks the same direction or at the same speed. Stock sectors are groupings of like companies.

What is an Economic Moat and Why should Stock Investors Care
An economic moat protects a company from competitors by creating obstacles for entry into the market.

Guard Against Using Old Information when Analyzing Stocks
Much can happen to companies in a volatile market. Don't use old information to analyze a company.

Avoiding Companies with No Earnings is Good Idea
It is easy to become excited about a new idea or technology, but investing in companies with no history of making money is risky.

A Good Company with a Bad P/E
A good company can be a risky investment if you pay too much for it. The P/E is a good tool for a rough idea about a stock's value.

Why Free Cash Flow is so Important
Free cash flow is one of the most important numbers you need to know about a stock. It will help you determine a fair price for the company's 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.

ROA is a Leading Measure of Company's Efficiency
Return on Assets is an important number for investors to know when considering a stock. It provides a measure of efficiency.

Picking Stocks begins with Assessment of Need
The first step in picking a stock is to determine where you need to diversify your portfolio.

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...
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.

Avoid Selling Stock on False Signals
Knowing when to sell a stock is as important as knowing when to buy, but don't sell on false signals.

Two Prices for the Same Stock?
There are two prices for a stock that concern long-term investors and they usually aren't the same.

Dividends Important Part of Stock Investor's Return
Dividends can provide investors with steady income and their ratios give you important information about the company.

Yield-Based Tools Help Investors Pick Stocks
Yield-based evaluation tools can help investors pick stocks that fit their financial goals. The dividend yield tool is one of the most popular.

Earnings-Based Valuations Popular with Stock Market Investors
Investors buy long term earnings and need a way to evaluate companies based on their future earnings.

Use Equity and Sales to Evaluate Stocks
You can use equity and sales to help evaluate a stock for investment, but don't act on just these two numbers.

Learning When to Buy or Sell Stocks Not Easy
Jumping into the latest hot investment can be exciting, but don't let your emotions make to take dangerous risks.

How Do You Evaluate a Stock to Buy?
The method you use to select a stock for investment can be by the numbers or more subjective.

Look for Gains in Mid-Cap Stocks
Mid-cap stocks fall into the gap between large-cap and small-cap stocks in terms of risk and potential growth opportunities.

Large-Cap Stocks No Guarantee of Safety
Large-cap stocks are not always the safe haven investors hope for when the stock market is churning. However, don't overlook small-cap stocks just because they tend to be more risky - sometimes that's where the best return is found.

Stock Sectors Can Help Identify Buy (or Sell) Candidates
How does that stock you are considering compare to its peers? You really need to know.

Speculative Return Distorts Stock Performance
Long-term investors may find a stock's price distorted by speculation, but if you know the intrinsic value of a stock you can make a buy or sell decision.

How Much Should You Pay for a Share of Stock?
One of the hardest things an investor in the stock market does is figure out the right price for a stock.

Understanding Stock Sectors fort Evaluating Companies
Stock sectors group companies by industry or business. This helps you evaluate individual stocks by comparing them to their peers.

Comparative Valuation Gets Stock Investor Started on Track of Correct Price
Finding the correct value or price for a company is very difficult. The comparable valuation model may help you get started.

Investors in Stock Market: Follow the Crowd or Go Your Own Way?
There is no guarantee the "crowd" knows more about an investment than you do. Make your own stock decisions - to buy or to sell.

Factors to Consider When Analyzing Stocks
What factors should investors in the stock market look for when analyzing a stock.

Building Your Stock Portfolio with Core Investments
A secure portfolio is anchored with core stocks that can weather economic and market challenges.

The Role of Assumptions in Valuing a Stock
The future is unknowable, however investors must do the best they can with assumptions on growth.

The Future Challenges Investors in the Stock Market
While we can't know the future economic or market conditions, we can prepare our investments for the best outcome.

Should You Sell Stocks Following Strong Market Run?
Long-term investors buy great companies and hold them until they are no longer great. They buy value, not price.

Investing in the Stock Market Starting at the Top
Some investors like to look at global and U.S. economic and market conditions before they begin a stock-picking process.

The Stock Market's Risk Premium
The stock market premium tells you how much over the return of a risk-free investment you should expect from stocks.

Picking Stocks By Digging Deep
Many investors in the stock market focus almost exclusively on a company's fundamentals when making investment decision.

Investors in Stock Market Ignore Earnings Expectations
Every quarter, the market pundits hold their collective breath waiting for earnings reports. Unfortunately, the drama of this event can cloud the thinking of long-term investors.

What Were You Thinking? Factors in Stock Market Decisions
There are several influences that can easily over-ride our most logical of decisions if we let them.

Investors in Stock Market Watch Interest Rates Closely
Interest rates play an important role in deciding a fair price for a stock.

Use Stock's Beta to Measure Volatility
A stock's beta may give you a clue as how the stock's price may move in relationship to the overall market.

Stock Investors Benefit from Stock Buybacks
When a company buys its own stock off the open market, it increase shareholder value by causing the share price to rise.

Buying for Long-Term Wealth Impossible?
Finding a good stock that will be good in the future is difficult, but not impossible.

Stock Investors Should Watch Trades of Key Executives
Following the trades of insiders can yield clues about a stock.

Price/Sales Ratio Helps Identify Stocks for Investment
Identifying potential investment candidates can be a little easier if you understand the price/sales ratio.