- 1). Read the 52 week high and low. There are approximately 52 weeks in a year. The 52 week high and low gives the highest and lowest stock market value for the entire year for a given stock. In other words, it provides an annual range. You will also see the day high and low for the stock which provides the daily range.
- 2). Read the company name and type of stock. The company name is the company that issued the stock. If there are no symbols by the stock the stock is usually common stock. Symbols refer to different types of stocks. For instance, "p" or "pf" means preferred stock. Different publications have different symbols. Check the legend of the publication to see what each symbol means.
- 3). Read the ticker symbol. The ticker symbol is unique to each stock. It is usually an abbreviation of the full name of the company stock. For instance, the ticker symbol for General Electric is GE. This is usually listed next to the company name. In some publications, only the ticker symbol is listed for the stock.
- 4). Read the dividend per share. This represents the annual dividend payment for each share of stock. If there is no amount given, the company probably does not issue a dividend. Next to dividend per share is usually the dividend yield which is calculated by dividing the annual dividend by the stock price.
- 5). Read the trading volume. Some publications will list the trading volume along with the stock price. This figure tells you the total number of shares traded for the day.
- 6). Read the daily close price. This is the last trading price for the stock and is recorded at the close of the stock market. It is primarily used as an indicator of past performance.
- 7). Read the net change. This is the dollar value in which the stock has changed for the day. If the stock closes higher/lower for the day it means the net change is positive/negative.
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