Many investors use fundamental analysis alone or in combination with other tools to evaluate stocks for investment purposes. The goal is to determine the current worth and, more importantly, how the market values the stock.
This article focuses on the key tools of fundamental analysis and what they tell you. Even if you don’t plan to do in-depth fundamental analysis yourself, it will help you follow stocks more closely if you understand the key ratios and terms.
EarningsIt’s all about earnings. That is what investors want to know. How much money is the company making and how much is it going to make in the future.
Earnings are profits. It may be complicated to calculate, but that’s what buying a company is about. Increasing earnings generally leads to a higher stock price and, in some cases, a regular dividend.
When earnings fall short, the market may hammer the stock. Every quarter, companies report earnings. Analysts follow major companies closely and if they fall short of projected earnings, sound the alarm.
While earnings are important, by themselves they don’t tell you anything about how the market values the stock. To begin building a picture of how the stock is valued you need to use some fundamental analysis tools. These ratios are easy to calculate, but you can find most of them already done on various financial websites.
Fundamental Analysis Tools
Below are the most popular tools of fundamental analysis. They focus on earnings, growth, and value in the market.
- Earnings per Share – EPS
- Price to Earnings Ratio – P/E
- Projected Earning Growth – PEG
- Price to Sales – P/S
- Price to Book – P/B
- Dividend Payout Ratio
- Dividend Yield
- Book Value - BV
- Return on Equity - ROE