Stock Quote for Ford (F)

Reading the Wall Street Journal and viewing market quotes can be a huge challenge for the new investor. Nevertheless, like most puzzles or new skills, once you understand the components, your goal to learn to read stock market quotes will become easier. Ready?

The New York, American, and NASDAQ exchanges use the following format. Ten columns cover each stock. Column number definitions include:

1. 52-week high and low price range. Also includes column 2.
2. See above.
3. Company name and stock type.
4. Stock or “ticker” symbol.
5. Annual dividend amount, if any.
6. Percent yield (annual dividend return for each share divided by current market price).
7. Price-Earnings ratio (PE), which helps you analyze a stock’s relative value.
8. Daily trade volume for prior day’s activities (expressed in “hundreds”).
9. Hi/Lo, which displays the high and low prices of shares traded today.
10. Closing price and net change for the day.

NASDAQ also uses an abbreviated (four column) quote format for small cap stocks. These quotes include company name with dividend, volume traded, final price of the day, and amount of change from the prior day’s close.

Good beginner stock market training, like the Investing 101 eCourse, will give you comfort with understanding stock symbols and help you learn to read stock market quotes. Playing a stock market game in simulation form also gives you some experience in the real world without the money risk.