Reading Stock Quotes

These are the highest and lowest prices at which a stock has traded over the previous 52 weeks (one year).

This column lists the name of the company. If there are no special symbols or letters following the name, it is common stock. For example, "pf" means the shares are preferred stock. 

This is the unique alphabetic name which identifies the stock.

This indicates the annual dividend payment per share. If this space is blank, the company does not pay out dividends. 

This figure shows the total number of shares traded for the day, listed in hundreds. 

The percentage return on the dividend. Calculated as annual dividends per share divided by price per share. 

This is calculated by dividing the current stock price by earnings per share from the last four quarters. 

The close is the last trading price recorded when the market closed on the day. If the closing price is up or down more than 5% than the previous day's close, the entire listing for that stock is bold-faced. Keep in mind, you are not guaranteed to get this price if you buy the stock the next day because the price is constantly changing (even after the exchange is closed for the day). The close is merely an indicator of past performance and except in extreme circumstances serves as a ballpark of what you should expect to pay. 

This is the dollar value change in the stock price from the previous day's closing price. When you hear about a stock being "up for the day," it means the net change was positive.