How to Read a Stock Quote (9 Steps)

Locate the abbreviated name of the company. The abbreviation usually appears in the third column ('Stock').
Look at the 52-week high ('Hi'). This is the highest price anyone has paid for the stock in the past year, and it appears in the first column.
Find the 52-week low ('Low'). This is the lowest price paid for the stock in the past year. The figure appears in the second column.
Note the ticker symbol. This symbol, used by the stock exchange to identify the company, appears in the fourth column.
Check the dividend and yield figures that appear in the fifth and sixth columns. 'Div' is the amount of cash that would be paid to shareholders yearly based on the most recent quarterly payment. 'Yld' is the cash dividend divided by the closing price of the stock.
Review the 'PE' figure that appears in the sixth column. The price-earnings ratio is calculated by dividing the closing price by earnings for the past four quarters combined. This provides a way to compare stock values.
Note the seventh column, 'Vol.,' which shows how many shares of the stock changed hands the previous business day.
Glance at the eighth and ninth columns, which show the highest ('Hi') price and the lowest ('Lo') price paid for the stock on that day.
Read the last two columns to find out the price at which the stock closed for the day ('Close') and the net change ('Net chg') from the day before.

How to Calculate a Common Stock Required Rate of Return

Determine a stock's beta, a measure of its market risk. A beta of 1 means the stock has the same risk as the overall market, while a beta greater than 1 means the stock has more risk than the market. You can find a stock's beta in the quote section of a financial website that provides stock quotes. For example, use a stock's beta of 1.2.
Determine the market's risk-free rate of return---the return you can earn on an investment with zero risk. Use the current yield on U.S. treasury bills. The U.S. government guarantees these investments, which makes them virtually risk-free. You can find treasury yields widely published on financial websites or the business section of a newspaper. For example, use a risk-free rate of 1.5 percent.
Estimate the market risk premium, the excess return stock investors require over the risk-free rate of return for taking on the risk of investing in stocks. Subtract the risk-free rate of return from the expected return of the overall stock market to calculate the risk premium. For example, if you expect the overall market to generate 10 percent returns over the next year, subtract the 1.5 percent risk-free rate, or 0.015, from 10 percent, or 0.1. This equals a market risk premium of 0.085, or 8.5 percent.
Substitute the values into the CAPM equation, Er = Rf + (B x Rp). In the equation, 'Er' represents the stock's expected return; 'Rf' represents the risk-free rate; 'B' represents beta; and 'Rp' represents the market risk premium. In the example, the CAPM equation is Er = 0.015 + (1.2 x 0.085).
Multiply beta by the market risk premium and add the result to the risk-free rate to calculate the stock's expected return. For example, multiply 1.2 by 0.085, which equals 0.102. Add this to 0.015, which equals 0.117, or an 11.7 percent required rate of return.