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BetaĪ beta is a statistical measurement of a stock’s movement when compared to the market’s overall movement. Companies are not required by law to pay out dividends-so if this space is blank, it means that the company is currently not offering dividends. The dividend-price is listed per share.įor example, if a stock quote lists that it is paying $1 in dividends and you purchase 100 shares of stock, you can expect to see a $100 return on your investment annually. The dividend is the amount of money that a company will pay to shareholders on a regular basis, typically either annually or semi-annually. The higher the volume, the more liquid a stock is a highly liquid stock can be bought and sold easily and will show a high daily volume Dividends The volume is the number of shares of a given stock that have traded hands that day. This is not the price that you will pay if you’re looking to buy-the ask price is the current price. The last price is the most recent price in which the stock has been traded. Just like the ask price, you can expect the bid price of every stock to fluctuate throughout the day.
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If you are looking to sell your stocks, the bid price will be more important to you than the ask. The bid price is the highest price that a buyer is willing to pay for a single share of stock. If more buyers are looking to get their hands on the stock than there are traders willing to sell, you can expect the ask price to rise.
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When you are placing a market order, your broker will automatically get the most “bang for your buck” by buying at the ask, or the lowest-selling trader.Īsk prices frequently move throughout the trading day-if more sellers are looking to get rid of their stock, the ask price will go down. The ask is the lowest price at which a seller is willing to sell a single share of the stock to you. The most important number for stock buyers is the ask price.
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The most important numbers you’ll need to understand are the following: Ask
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Though this may seem like an overwhelming task at first, the truth is that most of the information you’ll see on your quotes aren’t immediately crucial when buying or selling. To read a stock quote, you’ll need to understand what the various numbers mean.
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