A share price is the price of a single share of a number of saleable equity shares of a company. In layman's terms, the stock price is the highest amount someone is willing to pay for the stock, or the lowest amount that it can be bought for.
A share price is the price of a single share of a number of saleable equity shares of a company. In layman's terms, the stock price is the highest amount someone is willing to pay for the stock, or the lowest amount that it can be bought for.
In economics and financial theory, analysts use random walk techniques to model behavior of asset prices, in particular share prices of companies publicly listed. This practice has its basis in the presumption that investors act rationally and without biases, and that at any moment they estimate the value of an asset based on future expectations. Under these conditions, all existing information affects the price, which changes only when new information comes out. By definition, new information appears randomly and influences the asset price randomly.
Empirical studies have demonstrated that prices do not completely follow random walks. [1] Low serial correlations (around 0.05) exist in the short term, and slightly stronger correlations over the longer term. Their sign and the strength depend on a variety of factors.
Researchers have found that some of the biggest price deviations from random walks result from seasonal and temporal patterns. In particular, returns in January significantly exceed those in other months (January effect) and on Mondays stock prices go down more than on any other day. Observers have noted these effects in many different markets for more than half a century, but without succeeding in giving a completely satisfactory explanation for their persistence.
Technical analysis uses most of the anomalies to extract information on future price movements from historical data. Technical analysis also takes market sentiment into account. [2] But some economists, for example Eugene Fama, argue that most of these patterns occur accidentally, rather than as a result of irrational or inefficient behavior of investors: the huge amount of data available to researchers for analysis allegedly causes the fluctuations.
Another school of thought, behavioral finance, attributes non-randomness to investors' cognitive and emotional biases. This can be contrasted with fundamental analysis.
When viewed over long periods, the share price is related to expectations of future earnings and dividends of the firm. [3] Over short periods, especially for younger or smaller firms, the relationship between share price and dividends can be quite unmatched.
Many U.S.-based companies seek to keep their share price (also called stock price) low, partly based on "round lot" trading (multiples of 100 shares). A corporation can adjust its stock price by a stock split, substituting a quantity of shares at one price for a different number of shares at an adjusted price where the value of shares x price remains equivalent. (For example, 500 shares at $32 may become 1000 shares at $16.) Many major firms like to keep their price in the $25 to $75 price range.
A US share must be priced at $1 or more to be covered by NASDAQ. If the share price falls below that level, the stock is "delisted" and becomes an OTC (over the counter stock). A stock must have a price of $1 or more for 10 consecutive trading days during each month to remain listed.
The highest share prices on the NYSE have been those of Berkshire Hathaway class A, trading at over $625,000/share (in February 2024). Berkshire Hathaway has refused to split its stock and make it more affordable to retail investors, as they want to attract shareholders with a long-term vision. In 1996, Berkshire Hathaway issued the class B shares that come with 1/1000 of the value and 1/1500 of the voting rights in order to avoid the formation of mutual funds that buy class A shares.
Lindt & Sprüngli shares topped out at approximately $140,000 (December 2021). Like Berkshire Hathaway, the Swiss chocolate manufacturer issued so-called Partizipationsschein shares, valued at 1/100 of the original share value, and come void of voting rights.
| Company | Price (US$) | Date | Industry Notes | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berkshire Hathaway | 628,900 [4] | February 2024 | holding company Most expensive share in the world. | United States |
| Lindt & Sprüngli | 140,000 [4] | December 2021 | chocolate manufacture Most expensive European share. | Switzerland |
| Bastfaserkontor | 11,435 | March 2022 | small real estate company Company name: See "bast fibre kontor". 10,000 shares in circulation. | Germany |
| Berlin Zoo | 9,365 | June 2021 | zoo 4000 shares in circulation. | Germany |
| Financière Moncey | 8,711 | September 2021 | holding company; specializing in urban public transport Strongly connected to the Bolloré enterprise. | France |
| NVR, Inc. | 7,617 [4] | February 2024 | home construction, mortgage banking | United States |
| Zuger Kantonalbank | 7,200 | May 2022 | state bank of the Canton of Zug | Switzerland |
| Swiss National Bank | 6,371 | February 2022 | central bank | Switzerland |
| Reederei Herbert Ekkenga | 5,400 | February 2022 | tourist ships on the Zwischenahner Meer | Germany |
| Seaboard Corporation | 4,650 [4] | April 2019 | agriculture, shipping, electricity | United States |
| Berkeley Group Holdings | 4,484 | April 2022 | house building, real estate | United Kingdom |
| Financière des Sucres | 4,355 | April 2022 | sugar refinery, sugar trade | Belgium |
| Ultra Electronics Holding | 4,330 | April 2022 | defense and security equipment | United Kingdom |
| Givaudan | 4,017 | April 2022 | flavours and fragrances | Switzerland |
| Booking Holdings | 3,840 [4] | February 2024 | travel | United States |
| Wizz Air Holdings plc | 3,776 | April 2022 | low cost airline | Jersey (United Kingdom) |
| Amazon | 3,515 [4] | November 2021 | online commerce | United States |
| Alphabet Inc. | 2,960 [4] | October 2021 | information technology | United States |
| Auto Zone | 2,842 [4] | February 2024 | auto parts | United States |
| Texas Pacific Land Corporation | 2,715 [4] | November 2022 | land management, water services | United States |
| Société Générale de Surveillance | 2,696 | April 2022 | inspection, certification, testing | Switzerland |
| Chipotle Mexican Grill | 2,666 [4] | February 2024 | restaurant chain | United States |
| Barry Callebaut | 2,513 | August 2021 | cocoa | Switzerland |
Robert D. Coleman's Evolution of Stock Pricing notes that the invention of double-entry bookkeeping in the fourteenth century led to company valuations being based upon ratios such as price per unit of earnings (from the income statement), price per unit of net worth (from the balance sheet) and price per unit of cash flow (from the funds statement). The next advance was to price individual shares rather than whole companies. A price/dividends ratio began to be used. Following this, the next stage was the use of discounted cash flows, based on the time value of money, to estimate the intrinsic value of stock. [5]
Fundamental analysis, in accounting and finance, is the analysis of a business's financial statements ; health; competitors and markets. It also considers the overall state of the economy and factors including interest rates, production, earnings, employment, GDP, housing, manufacturing and management. There are two basic approaches that can be used: bottom up analysis and top down analysis. These terms are used to distinguish such analysis from other types of investment analysis, such as quantitative and technical.
A dividend is a distribution of profits by a corporation to its shareholders, after which the stock exchange decreases the price of the stock by the dividend to remove volatility. The market has no control over the stock price on open on the ex-dividend date, though often than not it may open higher. When a corporation earns a profit or surplus, it is able to pay a portion of the profit as a dividend to shareholders. Any amount not distributed is taken to be re-invested in the business. The current year profit as well as the retained earnings of previous years are available for distribution; a corporation is usually prohibited from paying a dividend out of its capital. Distribution to shareholders may be in cash or, if the corporation has a dividend reinvestment plan, the amount can be paid by the issue of further shares or by share repurchase. In some cases, the distribution may be of assets.
In finance, equity is an ownership interest in property that may be offset by debts or other liabilities. Equity is measured for accounting purposes by subtracting liabilities from the value of the assets owned. For example, if someone owns a car worth $24,000 and owes $10,000 on the loan used to buy the car, the difference of $14,000 is equity. Equity can apply to a single asset, such as a car or house, or to an entire business. A business that needs to start up or expand its operations can sell its equity in order to raise cash that does not have to be repaid on a set schedule.
The efficient-market hypothesis (EMH) is a hypothesis in financial economics that states that asset prices reflect all available information. A direct implication is that it is impossible to "beat the market" consistently on a risk-adjusted basis since market prices should only react to new information.
In accounting, book value is the value of an asset according to its balance sheet account balance. For assets, the value is based on the original cost of the asset less any depreciation, amortization or impairment costs made against the asset. Traditionally, a company's book value is its total assets minus intangible assets and liabilities. However, in practice, depending on the source of the calculation, book value may variably include goodwill, intangible assets, or both. The value inherent in its workforce, part of the intellectual capital of a company, is always ignored. When intangible assets and goodwill are explicitly excluded, the metric is often specified to be tangible book value.
In finance, valuation is the process of determining the value of a (potential) investment, asset, or security. Generally, there are three approaches taken, namely discounted cashflow valuation, relative valuation, and contingent claim valuation.
The dividend yield or dividend–price ratio of a share is the dividend per share divided by the price per share. It is also a company's total annual dividend payments divided by its market capitalization, assuming the number of shares is constant. It is often expressed as a percentage.
A treasury stock or reacquired stock is stock which is bought back by the issuing company, reducing the amount of outstanding stock on the open market.
Preferred stock is a component of share capital that may have any combination of features not possessed by common stock, including properties of both an equity and a debt instrument, and is generally considered a hybrid instrument. Preferred stocks are senior to common stock but subordinate to bonds in terms of claim and may have priority over common stock in the payment of dividends and upon liquidation. Terms of the preferred stock are described in the issuing company's articles of association or articles of incorporation.
Stock valuation is the method of calculating theoretical values of companies and their stocks. The main use of these methods is to predict future market prices, or more generally, potential market prices, and thus to profit from price movement – stocks that are judged undervalued are bought, while stocks that are judged overvalued are sold, in the expectation that undervalued stocks will overall rise in value, while overvalued stocks will generally decrease in value. A target price is a price at which an analyst believes a stock to be fairly valued relative to its projected and historical earnings.
In economics and accounting, the cost of capital is the cost of a company's funds, or from an investor's point of view is "the required rate of return on a portfolio company's existing securities". It is used to evaluate new projects of a company. It is the minimum return that investors expect for providing capital to the company, thus setting a benchmark that a new project has to meet.
Value investing is an investment paradigm that involves buying securities that appear underpriced by some form of fundamental analysis. Modern value investing derives from the investment philosophy taught by Benjamin Graham and David Dodd at Columbia Business School starting in 1928 and subsequently developed in their 1934 text Security Analysis.
Growth investing is a type of investment strategy focused on capital appreciation. Those who follow this style, known as growth investors, invest in companies that exhibit signs of above-average growth, even if the share price appears expensive in terms of metrics such as price-to-earnings or price-to-book ratios. In typical usage, the term "growth investing" contrasts with the strategy known as value investing.
Share repurchase, also known as share buyback or stock buyback, is the reacquisition by a company of its own shares. It represents an alternate and more flexible way of returning money to shareholders. Repurchases allow stockholders to delay taxes which they would have been required to pay on dividends in the year the dividends are paid, to instead pay taxes on the capital gains they receive when they sell the stock, whose price is now proportionally higher because of the smaller number of shares outstanding.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to finance:
In finance, a Class B share or Class C share is a designation for a share class of a common or preferred stock that typically has strengthened voting rights or other benefits compared to a Class A share that may have been created. The equity structure, or how many types of shares are offered, is determined by the corporate charter.
Stocks consist of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided. A single share of the stock means fractional ownership of the corporation in proportion to the total number of shares. This typically entitles the shareholder (stockholder) to that fraction of the company's earnings, proceeds from liquidation of assets, or voting power, often dividing these up in proportion to the number of like shares each stockholder owns. Not all stock is necessarily equal, as certain classes of stock may be issued, for example, without voting rights, with enhanced voting rights, or with a certain priority to receive profits or liquidation proceeds before or after other classes of shareholders.
A financial ratio or accounting ratio states the relative magnitude of two selected numerical values taken from an enterprise's financial statements. Often used in accounting, there are many standard ratios used to try to evaluate the overall financial condition of a corporation or other organization. Financial ratios may be used by managers within a firm, by current and potential shareholders (owners) of a firm, and by a firm's creditors. Financial analysts use financial ratios to compare the strengths and weaknesses in various companies. If shares in a company are publicly listed, the market price of the shares is used in certain financial ratios.
Dividend policy, in financial management and corporate finance, is concerned with the policies regarding dividends; more specifically paying a cash dividend in the present, as opposed to, presumably, paying an increased dividend at a later stage. Practical and theoretical considerations will inform this thinking.
Corporate finance is the area of finance that deals with the sources of funding, and the capital structure of businesses, the actions that managers take to increase the value of the firm to the shareholders, and the tools and analysis used to allocate financial resources. The primary goal of corporate finance is to maximize or increase shareholder value.
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