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Glossary of stock market terms

Plain-English definitions of the ratios and terms used throughout StockVane's stock pages.

% of float
Shares sold short as a percentage of the freely tradable float.
5-year avg ROE %
Return on equity averaged over the trailing five years, smoothing out one-off swings in a single year.
52-week range
The lowest and highest price over the past 52 weeks.
52W pos
Where the current price sits within the 52-week low-high range, as a percentage (100% = at the 52-week high).
Altman Z-Score
A bankruptcy-risk score combining five balance-sheet and income-statement ratios. Below roughly 1.8 signals distress risk; above roughly 3.0 signals low risk. Most reliable for industrial and manufacturing companies.
Amplitude
Today's high-low price range as a percentage of the previous close.
Book value / sh
Net assets (assets minus liabilities) divided by shares outstanding.
Current ratio
Current assets divided by current liabilities - a measure of ability to cover short-term obligations. Above 1 generally means short-term assets exceed short-term liabilities.
Days to cover
Shares sold short divided by average daily volume — how many days it would take short sellers to close out.
Debt / assets
Total debt as a percentage of total assets - a measure of balance-sheet leverage.
Div yield
Annual dividends per share as a percentage of the share price.
Div yield (TTM)
Trailing-twelve-month dividends per share as a percentage of the share price.
EBIT margin %
Operating profit (earnings before interest and tax) as a percentage of revenue.
Enterprise value
Market capitalization plus total debt minus cash - what it would cost, in theory, to acquire the whole company including paying off its debt.
EPS
Earnings per share: net profit divided by shares outstanding.
FCF / sales %
Free cash flow as a percentage of revenue.
FCF CAGR (3Y) %
Compound annual growth rate of free cash flow over the trailing three years.
Float cap
Market capitalization of only the freely tradable (non-restricted) shares.
Float shares
Shares outstanding that are freely tradable, excluding restricted/insider holdings.
Growth streak
Consecutive years the dividend has been raised or held steady without a cut.
Interest coverage
Operating profit divided by interest expense - how many times over the company can pay the interest on its debt from operating earnings.
LT debt / equity
Long-term debt divided by shareholder equity - another common leverage measure.
Net income CAGR (3Y) %
Compound annual growth rate of net income over the trailing three years.
P/B
Price-to-book ratio: share price divided by book value (net assets) per share.
P/E
Price-to-earnings ratio: share price divided by earnings per share.
P/E (TTM)
Price-to-earnings ratio using the trailing twelve months of earnings.
Payout ratio
The share of net profit paid out to shareholders as dividends.
PEG ratio
The P/E ratio divided by the earnings growth rate - a lower PEG can suggest a stock is cheap relative to how fast its earnings are growing.
Quick ratio
Like the current ratio but excluding inventory - a stricter measure of short-term liquidity.
Revenue CAGR (3Y) %
Compound annual growth rate of revenue over the trailing three years.
ROA %
Return on assets: net profit as a percentage of total assets.
ROE %
Return on equity: net profit as a percentage of shareholder equity.
ROIC %
Return on invested capital: after-tax operating profit as a percentage of the capital invested in the business.
Turnover rate
Today's trading volume as a percentage of total shares outstanding.
Volume ratio
Today's volume relative to the recent average volume at the same time of day.
Yield (TTM)
Trailing-twelve-month dividends per share as a percentage of the share price.

For reference only, not investment advice. See the data & methodology page for how these are calculated.