FAP Turbo

Make Over 90% Winning Trades Now!

Thursday, December 31, 2009

Researching Stocks

By Jeffrey Jackson

When deciding which stocks to pick there are certain things to be considered. Before beginning any research, decide whether or not you would like to employ a long or short-term strategy or a combination of both. Many financial planners would advise their clients to make some long-term stock investments and depending on how much someone likes studying, researching, and looking for good opportunities do some day trading. Included in this article are some very simple and basic yet proven tips for researching stocks.

First tip: Go to www.freeedgar.com and get a hold of the proper financial statements filed with the Security and Exchange commission (SEC). Analyze all proper documentation and quarterly statements at least to two or three years back. Pay attention to all indications of certain trends with earnings per share or revenue. Be sure there is consistent growth in earnings per share.

Second tip: Now its time to calculate the company's price-earning ratio (PE). The price earnings ratio is a way to gauge the value of the stocks value. PE is calculated by dividing stock price by annual earnings per share. To make that calculation go to: http://www.webcalc.net/calc/business/1038.php.

When a company has a high PE it is often perceived to be overpriced but it may have been bid up due to its upside potential. On the contrary, when a company has a low PE it could be potentially perceived as a "vote of no confidence" or is an indicator that particular stock has flown under the radar and its value has not been recognized. Always compare any stock you're interested in and it's PE to industry standards as well as the S&P 500 ratio. http://stocks.about.com/od/evaluatingstocks/a/pe.htm.

Third tip: During the process of analyzing a company's balance sheet and beware of its debt, debt structure and its plans for any long-term debt. Also look at the company's cash flow. It's always a positive sign to see positive cash flow.

To sum it up here are some simple, basic tips that are important to know before pulling the trigger on any type of stock investment whether large or small. If you plan to invest a large sum take a look at a few more details in the company's financial statement before making that investment. Regardless of whether or not you're planning for long or short-term stock investing, hold onto your money until you've done your research. - 23222

About the Author:

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home