Copy of `Digital Look - Investment info`

The wordlist doesn't exist anymore, or, the website doesn't exist anymore. On this page you can find a copy of the original information. The information may have been taken offline because it is outdated.

Digital Look - Investment info Category: Economy and Finance > Investment tools Date & country: 02/01/2011, UK Words: 85

Acquisitions
Acquiring control of a corporation, called a target, by stock purchase or exchange, either hostile or friendly.

AGM
A mandatory yearly meeting of shareholders that allows stakeholders to stay informed and involved with company decisions and workings.

Alternative Investment Market (AIM)
A junior market compared with the main London Stock Exchange with less onerous listing requirements so it tends to attract smaller companies that have been trading for a short period of time.

Balance Sheet
A financial statement which provides a quantitative summary of a company`s financial position at a given point in time. This takes into account assets, liabilities and net worth with the first part of the balance sheet showing all the productive assets a company owns, and the second part showing all the financial methods.

Bid Price
The price at which a market maker will buy a security.

Broker Recommendation
A stockbroker`s opinion of the investment quality of a company`s shares at the time that it`s reviewed in comparison to other stocks in the sector.

Bulletin Board
A place on a website where private investors can post comments and questions.

Called up Share Capital
Nominal value of shares of the company that are issued and fully paid.

Capital Employed
Capital employed is the value of the assets that contribute to a company's ability to generate revenue. Fixed assets plus current assets minus current liabilities.

Cash Flow
A measure of a company's financial health. Equals cash receipts minus cash payments over a given period of time.

Cash Flow Statement
Gives a summary of a company`s cash flow over a given period of time.

Corporation Tax
A tax paid by limited companies on their profits.

Creditors
People to whom the company owes something, usually cash or a claim to services.

Debtors
People who owe the company something, usually cash or a claim to services.

Director Dealings
When directors buy or sell shares in their company.

Disposals
Sale of a business or business line to another entity.

Dividend Cover
A company`s ability to pay ordinary dividends to shareholders out of profits earned and is calculated by dividing the adjusted Earnings Per Share (EPS) by the total dividend per share.

Dividend Growth (Average)
this shows how well a company is paying it Dividends by comparing the amount they have paid out to the shareholders over a chosen period.

Dividend Payment Date
The date on which the most recent dividend will be paid to shareholders.

Dividend Per Share Growth
The percentage change from the previous year in the dividend paid on each share.

Dividends
A taxable payment declared by a company's board of directors and given to its shareholders out of the company's current or retained earnings, usually quarterly.

Earnings Per Share
A company`s profitability expressed on a per share basis and calculated by dividing the company`s annual earnings after tax by the number of shares in issue.

EGM
If something happens within the company that requires the shareholders to meet before the next scheduled AGM, then an extraordinary general meeting is held.

Exchange traded Fund (ETF)
ETFs are a kind of collective investment fund competing with investment trusts and unit trusts for investor`s money. ETFs are a lot like conventional tracker funds, pooling the cash of a large number of investors and investing it a basket of shares in companies that make up an index. ETFs are open ended but they do not usually have initial charges and their annual management charges are much lower...

Ex-Dividend Date
was created to allow all pending transactions to be completed before the record date. If an investor does not own the stock before the ex-dividend date, he or she will be ineligible for the dividend payout. Further, for all pending transactions that have not been completed by the ex-dividend date, the exchanges automatically reduce the price of the stock by the amount of the dividend.

Forecast Dividend Change
this is what the analysts believe the Dividend payout will increase/decrease by within a chosen period.

Forecast EPS Change
this is what the analysts believe the EPS will increase/decrease within a chosen period.

Forecast Revenue Change
This is what the analysts believe the Revenue will increase/decrease by within a chosen period.

Gearing
Companies are financed by a combination of debt and shareholders equity. A gearing ratio will tell how much a company has borrowed in relation to the amount of shareholders funds in the business.

General Meetings
A meeting of the shareholders of a company usually held on an annual basis - commonly known as an AGM at which business such as the reception of the directors` report and accounts, declaration of dividends, election of directors is held.

Gross Gearing
Calculated by dividing gross borrowings by shareholder funds.

High/Low price
The highest and lowest prices for a security over a certain period

Index
An index is a statistical indicator representing the value of the securities that constitute it. Indices are often used to measure a market or industry`s performance. An index may be grouped by market cap (e.g. FTSE 100), business type (e.g. the technology companies in the FTSE Techmark index), sector (e.g. Telecoms) or some other parameter.

Intangible Assets
A company`s long-term assets that are usually non-physical in nature, but represent a right or expected future benefit. Examples are goodwill, brands and trademarks.

Interest
Monies charged by a bank or other financial organisation for borrowing money. This can also refer to the return earned on an investment, including money on deposit at a bank.

Interim Dividend
A dividend which is declared and distributed before the company's annual earnings have been calculated. These dividends are usually distributed six-monthly or quarterly.

Interim Results (`Interims”)
The results reported by a company for the first six months of its financial year. Generally, interim results are made public within three months of the end of the interim period.

Introduction
When a company comes to the market without making any money on admission.

Investment Trusts
a collective fund in the form of a listed company holding a portfolio of securities on behalf of its own shareholders. An investment trust and its shares are tradable in the same way as other companies and shares.

IPO
Initial Public Offering, the term used for any company joining the stock market. It is a way for companies to raise cash and increase and diversify the current shareholder base.

ISIN
International Securities Identification Number. A unique international code which identifies a securities issue. Each country has a national numbering agency which assigns ISIN numbers for securities in that country.

Market Capitalisation
The market value of a company, calculated by multiplying the current share price by the number of shares in issue.

Mid Price
The price in-between Bid and Offer price.

Minority Interest
Represent the share of the assets of the business in subsidiaries that are not wholly owned.

Net Asset Value
The value of the shareholders interest in a company, calculated by subtracting liabilities from assets.

Net Asset Value (Funds)
The price of each share of a mutual fund. It is calculated by subtracting the fund's liabilities from its total assets, and dividing that figure by the number of shares outstanding. The NAV is the amount of money that an investor would receive for each share if the mutual fund sold all of its assets, paid off all of its outstanding debts, and distributed the proceeds to shareholders.

Net Assets
The total figure for all assets less all liabilities.

New Issue
Also known as IPO or Initial Public Offering, the term used for any company joining the stock market. It is a way for companies to raise cash and increase and diversify the current shareholder base.

Next Year Dividend Yield
Estimated figure for the annual dividend per share that the company will pay out next year. This is a consensus figure calculated from a range of analysts that produce investment research on the stock.

Next Year EPS Estimate
Estimated figure for next year`s Earnings Per Share figure. This is a consensus figure calculated from a range of analysts that produce investment research on the stock.

Next Year Forecast P/E Ratio
Estimated figure for next years Price to Earnings ratio. This is a consensus figure calculated based on the EPS figure expected from a range of analysts that produce investment research on this stock

OFEX
A British share trading and information service that enables investors to buy and sell shares in companies whose shares are not traded on the London Stock Exchange.

Offer Price
The price at which a market maker will sell a security.

Official List
The UK Listing Authority`s list of all listed securities.

Operating Margin
This is the trading margin for each period reported, showing trading profit as a percentage of sales, or total trading revenues.

Placing
A form of issue of securities in the UK, typically with a predetermined number of non-retail investors.

Portfolio
A collection of investments all owned by the same individual or organization. These investments often include stocks, which are investments in individual businesses; bonds, which are investments in debt that are designed to earn interest; and mutual funds, which are essentially pools of money from many investors that are invested by professionals or according to indices.

Preliminary Results
Listed companies have to announce the annual financial results for the company, also know as prelims or finals. They are considered preliminary until they are reviewed, adjusted and approved by audit. They also have to announce interim results and some companies also announce quarterly figures.

Pre-Tax Profit
A company`s operating profit before tax is deducted.

Pre-Tax Profit per share
A company`s profit after expenses but before tax divided by the number of shares in issue.

Profit and Loss account
The profit and loss account provides a record of a firm's trading activities and whether it has made a profit or lost money over a particular period of time. It differs from the balance sheet that records the financial position of the business at a particular snapshot moment in time.

Profit Growth (Average)
this shows how well a company is growing by comparing the net profits to the past net profits over a chosen period.

Profit Warning
When a listed company expects profits to fall below analysts` forecasts by more then 10%, the directors are required to issue a profits warning through the London Stock Exchange.

Public Offer
The making available of a new securities issue to the public through an underwriting also called offering. The public can ask for a prospectus and apply to buy shares prior to the companies admission.

Regulatory News Service
Also known as RNS, a means by which UK listed companies make announcements to the London Stock Exchange.

Reserves
In asset-based lending the difference between the value of the collateral and the amount lent. Also, funds set aside for emergencies or other future needs. Reserves can arise from the retention of profits or from events such as the issue of shares at a premium or the revaluation of assets.

Revenue Growth (Average)
this shows how well a company is growing by comparing the Revenue from the historical Revenue over the chosen period.

RiskGrade
Helps investors measure and compare the risk of financial investments to other companies at the same point in time. Visit http://www.riskgrades.com/retail/what_is/what_is.cgi to learn more about RiskGrades.

ROCE
(Return on capital employed). This is a measure of the return from invested and borrowed capital. The return is the pre-tax profit earned before charging borrowing costs.

Sales Per Share
A ratio that shows the total revenue earned per share over a 12-month period. This ratio can be compared to the company`s share price to understand the value that the markets are putting on a unit of the company`s sales.

Sectors
A distinct subset of a market, society, industry, or economy, whose components share similar characteristics. Stocks are often grouped into different sectors depending upon the company's business.

SEDOL
The Stock Exchange Daily Official List number, a code used by the London Stock Exchange to identify stocks, especially those that aren't actively traded in the U.S. and don't have a CUSIP number.

Share Premium Account
Surplus of proceeds from share issue over the nominal value of shares issued.

Shareholder Funds
The sum of all company assets less all liabilities.

Shares
A unit of ownership that is a proportional amount of a company. The standard class of shares are usually referred to as `Ordinary Shares” but a company may have more than one class of share, including Preference Shares.

Spread
The difference between the Bid Price and the Offer Price of an investment.

Stock Exchange
is an organization of brokers and investment bankers which has the purpose of providing the facilities for trade of company stock and other financial instruments - usually a central location and recordkeeping. The trading of stock on stock exchanges is called the stock market.

Stocks
The combined value of raw materials, work in progress or under construction and finished goods held.

Tangible Assets
Physical assets owned by a company or individual that can be seen or touched such as buildings, goods for sale or machinery.

Ticker
The three or four letter trading symbol assigned to the share (and some types of fund

Time and Sales
The official record of trades executed on a stock exchange during the day.

Total Assets
The sum of all company assets; both fixed and current.

Trading Statement
A statement made by a company regarding current business activities and sales experience.

Turnover
Also known as sales, the amount derived from the provision of goods and services falling within a company`s normal activities after the deduction of trade discounts, VAT, etc.

Volume
The number of shares traded over a given time period, usually one day.