How to read a stock quote - YouTube

A stock quote is a snapshot of a

company's price and other information

that can help you understand its

performance and make investment decisions.

In this short video, we'll take a look at

how to read a typical stock quote.

To get started, let's look up a

quote on the home screen when we log in.

If you'd like to look up a

quote using the RBC Mobile app

on your mobile device,

select "Direct Investing"

from the main menu when you log in.

From the home screen,

select "Quotes" and follow the

same steps we'll cover in this video.

Here's what comes up when we search

for Royal Bank of Canada, or quote symbol RY.

Now let's take a closer look.

Quote information can change frequently,

so always make sure you're looking

at the most recent information.

Some quotes might be delayed by up to 30 minutes.

This is how a detailed quote appears

when you look it up on RBC Direct Investing.

In general, all quotes include:

the stock's ticker symbol...

the stock's listing exchange and

market where it is bought and sold...

the stock's price...

and the net change in price.

Now let's look at the stock's price information

Open means the price of the stock's

first trade after the markets open.

Bid is the maximum that buyers

are willing to pay for one lot of shares.

Bid size is the number of lots

that buyers are willing to

buy at the highest bid.

Ask means the lowest price the sellers

will accept and Size is the number

of lots offered at that price.

Previous close is the price of

the stock at the end of the last trading day.

Share volume shows if the stock is currently

trading more or less than its average

daily volume of shares traded at this time of day.

These high/low numbers help us compare

the highest and lowest prices that the stock

reached on the day the quote is

viewed and over the previous year.

A stock's Earnings Per Share, or EPS,

can be determined by dividing the company's

net income by the number of shares outstanding.

The Price-to-Earnings or P/E ratio can be

determined by dividing the stock's

current price by the EPS.

Next earnings is the date when the

company is expected to announce their earnings.

Some quotes include a beta,

which sheds light on how volatile the

stock price is relative to the market.

Price volatility doesn't necessarily mean

a stock is the right investment,

but the beta can help show how the stock's

price fluctuates with market activity.

A stock may pay shareholders income

every quarter in the form of a dividend.

This is information about company's market capitalization,

which means the market value

of the company's outstanding shares.

Many quotes also include information

that can help you further analyze

the company you're researching -

performance charts for different time periods,

news about the company, third-party research,

company financials and more.

All of this information is useful

in helping you decide whether or

not to invest in the company.

Real-time quotes are just one of the

features you can access through RBC Direct Investing -

to help you find the information you

need to make investment decisions with confidence.

To get started, log into your account,

or visit rbcdirectinvesting.com today.