How do I Calculate my Expenses?
Keeping track of your expenses is one of the most important (and basic) steps to leading a responsible financial life. It might be tempting to “eyeball” your expenses and somehow get by without a plan, but in almost all cases, such carelessness will spell financial disaster. Budgeting your money for specific categories of expenses and carefully documenting the actual spending is critical. You should add up amounts spent on monthly mortgage and car payments, rent, groceries, clothing, entertainment, utilities, transportation, and other miscellaneous expenses, and try to get as close to possible to a monthly budget. Continue reading...
What is Dividend Recapitalization?
Leveraged Recapitalizations involve issuing new corporate bonds to finance a share buyback or large dividend, essentially rebalancing the capital structure of the business. Dividend recapitalizations will cause the share price to reduce, largely because the company’s debt-to-equity ratio has changed. This can be used to make the company look unattractive to potential acquirers. Recapitalizations are restructuring of a company’s capital. Dividend recapitalizations are sometimes called dividend recaps. Continue reading...
What are Earnings Estimates?
Earnings estimates are generally consolidated estimates which are averages of the estimates given by a number of market analysts. Companies give their own guidance on earnings estimations, and they will have their feet held to the fire, so to speak, if they are consistently off with their guidance, but most people will, rightly, give more weight to the consolidated estimates of outside experts. Earnings estimates on a publicly traded company will come from an array of industry analysts, and are normally consolidated into a single average estimate or range. The range might or average will certainly affect the trading prices of the stock, but not as much as adjustments to estimates will. Continue reading...
What is Discounted Cash Flow?
Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) uses an estimated future cash flow amount and a Discount Rate to determine the Present Value (PV). An investor or business executive might project an estimated future cash flow for a business based on recent growth rates, industry information, futurism, estimated inflation, etc. The most common future cash flow to use is free cash flow, which takes out capital expenditures. Continue reading...
What are Net Sales?
Net sales are the amount of sales that will actually be counted towards a company’s bottom line, meaning they account for goods returned or damaged goods. If a good is fully delivered to a customer and any return policy is expired, the good can be booked as a net sale for the company. Therefore, net sales gives a more accurate picture of the actual sales generated by the company, or the money that it expects to receive. Continue reading...
What is a foreign currency swap?
These are generally referred to as currency swaps or cross-currency swaps , since “foreign” is a little redundant (currencies are from different countries anyway). Central banks and large institutions sometimes swap principal amounts and loan interest in their domestic currency in exchange for a foreign currency, to provide liquidity and a hedge. Currency swaps are where banking institutions, particularly central banks, exchange a loan in one currency for a loan in another currency. Continue reading...
What is a commodity etf?
Commodity ETFs are focused on tracking the performance of commodity prices and their derivatives contracts. ETFs are like mutual funds that trade intra-day like stocks, but the volatility of commodities prices can make these equally unpredictable. Commodity ETFs are intended to track the performance and price movements of commodities and their derivatives. All sorts of commodities can and have become part of an ETF offering, from gold to grain, cattle, and coffee, and even US and foreign currencies. Each commodity has its peculiarities and it would be good to know about the market for each commodity that you intend to invest in. Continue reading...
What is a bull market?
Bull markets are defined as periods of sustained investor confidence and market growth, as prices trend higher and indexes rise over time. These stretches are typically tied to economic growth and strength. When investor sentiment is “bullish,” investors are generally willing to take more risk. These extended periods of growth typically last for months but can last for years. There are more technical definitions of a bull market, depending on which index, commodity, and other asset is being considered. As a general rule, however, bull markets tend to see stocks rise by 20% in response to a 20% decline, before eventually declining by 20% again to signal the end of the bull run. The longest bull run in S&P 500 history took place from March 2009 to March 2020, experiencing well over 300% growth over that time. Continue reading...
What is the Price/Earnings to Growth Ratio (PEG Ratio)?
The Price/Earnings to Growth Ratio (PEG Ratio) is used to determine a company’s value relative to its expected growth. The PEG ratio can be calculated by dividing a company’s P/E by its annual earnings per share growth. A lower PEG ratio may indicate that a company is undervalued relative to its expected growth, and a general rule of thumb is that a PEG ratio below 1 is favorable. Continue reading...
What are Profitability Ratios?
Profitability ratios are useful analytical tools to evaluate a company’s ability to generate profits relative to all costs and expenses. A company that has high profitability ratios relative to competitors/peers, or a company that has demonstrated to improve their profitability ratios over time, is generally viewed as a healthy and attractive company from an ownership perspective. Some examples of profitability ratios are profit margin, return on assets, and return on equity. Continue reading...