THE P/E is hands down the most popular ratio among investors. It definitely has its limitations (as well see in a minute), but its also easy to calculate and understand. If you want to know what the m……

AS WEVE NOTED frequently, stocks with strong growth rates tend to attract a lot of investors. All that attention can quickly drive their multiples above the market average. Does that mean theyre overv……

THE ONCE-OBSCURE price/sales ratio has become an increasingly popular method of valuation for a few reasons. First, quantitative investor James OShaughnessy demonstrated convincingly in his book, What……

LIKE THE PSR, this ratio is another response to investor distrust of net earnings. Many stock analysts think it gives a better picture of a companys true earning power than does the net income figure.……

BOOK VALUE is a companys assets minus its liabilities. Its accounting jargon for what would be left over for shareholders if the company were sold and its debt retired. The price/book ratio measures w……

LEAVE IT to Wall Street to figure out a way to profit from a falling stock. Its called selling short and its becoming increasingly popular among individual investors. It works like this: Say an invest……

HOW MUCH volatility can you expect from a given stock? Thats well worth knowing if you want to avoid being shocked into panic selling after buying it. Some stocks trend upward with all the consistency……

LIKE ROE and ROA, calculating a companys margins is a way of getting at management efficiency. But instead of measuring how much managers earn from assets or capital employed, this ratio measures how ……

IF YOU ASKED the average company president what he (hey, dont blame us for the averages) thinks of inventory, hed likely sigh and tell you its a necessary evil. Manufacturers have warehouses filled wi……

These statistics are always worth a look to take a companys short-term temperature. Current assets are things like cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable (money owed the company by customers) ……

IF ONE GROUP of managers was able to squeeze more money out its assets or capital than another, youd go with the first one, right? Of course. Thats why accountants and stock analysts long ago began lo……

A DIVIDEND is a payment many companies make to shareholders out of their excess earnings. Its usually expressed as a per-share amount. When you compare companies dividends, however, you talk about the……