How To Track Stocks 15 Steps With Pictures

For help determining a stock to track, see how to choose stocks.

You can also find daily stock information in the newspaper. Just look for the ticker symbol under the appropriate exchange heading in the paper’s financial section.

If you have use a premium online brokerage service with a lot of stock tracking features, there may be no reason for you to use any other stock tracking websites. However, if you have a basic, low-fee brokerage service, you may want to use other stock-tracking websites that have more features.

These portfolios allow you to enter your positions (stocks you own) and then update their price and total value based on changes in the market. [2] X Research source Websites like Mint and Wikinvest. com let you track your portfolio for free. They also have iPhone Applications that let you track your portfolio on the go. [3] X Research source Real-time stock quotes are usually unavailable through free stock-tracking websites. These sites most often have a pricing delay of 15 minutes. To obtain real-time updates you’ll need to purchase stock or sign up for a fee-based stock-tracking service.

Net change (or simply “change”) represents the gain or loss for the stock on a given day. It’s determined by taking the previous day’s closing price and subtracting it from the current or next day’s closing price. For more, see how to read stock quotes.

Dividends are paid when the company’s net earnings (net profits) are paid out to all stockholders evenly. The other option is to reinvest these earnings into the company itself. Companies attempting to grow or change quickly need capital reinvested and tend to not pay dividends (higher risk = higher reward). Companies without as much of a plan for growth or change tend to use their more consistent earnings to pay back shareholders for their (financial) support. This means that growth stocks may not pay dividends but may still be profitable investments due to their growth plans. [5] X Research source Another way to understand dividend payouts is to calculate the dividend payout ratio. This allows you to see how much of the company’s earnings are paid out to investors and if that number has changed over time.

Another way to look at the PE ratio is to think of it as an earnings multiple. That is, the ratio represents how much an investor is willing to pay for $1 of current earnings. So, a PE of 18 represents that an investor is willing to pay $18 for $1 of current earnings. A “good” PE ratio is hard to discern directly. That is, a high PE ratio shows you that investors are confident about a company’s growth and that the stock value might increase. However, a low PE ratio may represent good potential and might indicate an undervalued stock. The average PE ratio is 20-25. You should compare the company’s PE ratio to those of other company in the same industry to get an idea of where this company fits in. [6] X Research source

You can also find more long term financial information by studying the company’s financial statements, which are available from both the SEC and usually on the company’s website. [9] X Research source For more, see how to research a stock.

Investors buy securities and hold them for long periods of time with the expectations that they will earn value slowly. Day-traders look for quick jumps and falls in value in the same day or week and trade quickly. Even if trend and pattern analyses are made properly and conservatively, there is still risk that you will lose money on your trades. Be warned that you stand to lose a considerable amount of money if you try to engage in day-trading. [10] X Research source

Trend identification, along with the rest of the patterns mentioned, is part of what is known as technical analysis, which assesses market trends to help traders make trade decisions.

The lows between the head and two shoulders can also be used to draw a “neckline” that identifies the point at which you should certainly sell the stock. [13] X Research source