Stock FAQs

what makes a good stock investment

by Kaylee Erdman Published 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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Depending on what you’re looking for, a good investment can share some common characteristics, such as:

  • Safety
  • Predictable outcome or guaranteed return
  • In demand
  • Consistent earnings or payout
  • Easy to buy or sell
  • Undervalued

Key Takeaways
Look for the company's price-to-earnings ratio
price-to-earnings ratio
The P/E ratio is calculated by dividing the market value price per share by the company's earnings per share. Earnings per share (EPS) is the amount of a company's profit allocated to each outstanding share of a company's common stock, serving as an indicator of the company's financial health.
https://www.investopedia.com › investing › use-pe-ratio-and-p...
—the current share price relative to its per-share earnings. A company's beta can tell you much risk is involved with a stock compared to the rest of the market. If you want to park your money, invest in stocks with a high dividend.

What are the qualities of a good investment?

  • How much risk am I able to bear?
  • With what amount of return would I be satisfied?
  • What does my investment horizon allow me to invest in?

What are the best stocks to invest in?

When Is the Best Time to Invest In a Roth IRA?

  • The Sooner the Better. The amount of tax you pay on Roth contributions depends on how much you earn, so it’s wise to invest in one when you are making ...
  • Convert When Income Dips. There is an annual limit to how much you can contribute to a Roth IRA—in 2022 it’s $6,000 ($7,000 if you’re age 50 or older).
  • When Federal Income Tax Rates Are Favorable. ...

What are the top 10 stocks to buy?

  • Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL)
  • Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA)
  • Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F)
  • Realty Income (NYSE: O)
  • Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE: FRT)
  • Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE)
  • Builders FirstSource (NYSE: BLDR)

What stock is the best to buy?

Key Points

  • Innovative Industrial Properties, Enbridge, and Village Super Market have been falling in value in recent months.
  • They all yield more than double what the average stock on the S&P 500 pays.
  • Their dividend payments are all well supported because the businesses are profitable and performing well.

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A Good Stock Represents a Good Company

Every stock represents a business. Some businesses grow. Some fail. Some become diverse empires. Some find a comfortable niche.

A Good Stock Represents a Successful Business

A successful business is worth owning. A stock representing a successful business is worth owning. Success is far more than just "made a lot of money last year" or "reported great earnings" or "beat analyst estimates". It's a lot of criteria, some of which depend on the nature of the business.

A Great Stock is Available at a Good Price

A company may be good—trustworthy, safe, growing—but the stock is not worth buying right now. Why? Because it's too expensive.

What Makes a Good Stock Worth Buying?

After you've done your research, you must be able to tell yourself a story about the business. What does the company make? What does it sell? Who are its customers? How do those fit the business's performance? Given the company and its performance so far, will its business continue to produce profit for its investors? Can it grow?

We share three out of 15 points Philip Fisher once said to look for in stocks

Philip Fisher's classic tome, Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits, was published 45 years ago, yet today it offers investment advice as relevant as ever. This is surprising only because so many investment books are so awful, ignoring long-standing realities that make for good investing.

NYSE: WMT

Clearly this is a great place to start, because without revenue growth a company can't grow, period. When considering this point, you need to consider not only market size in terms of potential sales, but in terms of competition -- both existing and likely.

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Why is price important in business?

Price is arguably the most important variable in the long run because even a terrible business bought at a sufficiently cheap price can result in wealth accumulation under the right conditions. The ideal situation is to find a business that you believe in at a fair price.

Why do companies have staying power?

A company may have staying power if it has high returns, and if there are buyers loyal to its products or services. The price of stock can make or break a good deal when it comes to value in the long term.

How does management work?

Management Works to Keep Shareholders Happy. Good companies are often in the habit of returning surplus cash to their owners. It may come in the form of clever share repurchase plans, or a healthy dividend plan (such as one that grows at a rate far in excess of the broader rate of inflation).

Why are growth stocks so attractive?

Growth stocks are attractive to many investors because they are growing. But that doesn’t mean you should overpay for a growth stock either. Growth investors want to avoid those stocks that have a big run-up because of investor demand or because fundamentals have declined but the stock price hasn’t.

Why is growth investing important?

Growth investing can often be most attractive in a healthy economy where companies are benefiting from increased demand and a rise in corporate and consumer spending. However, certain key factors can help a growth company do well in all types of economic environments.

What is growth stock?

Growth stocks are companies that are expected to outpace their peers in terms of earnings and stock performance. Growth stocks provide for a multitude of both short-term and long-term opportunities for investors. When investors are researching growth stocks, they should identify companies that have a strong leadership team, a good growth market, ...

Why is a strong leadership team important?

A Strong Leadership Team. Because growth companies are focused on increasing the profits and sales of the organization, the management team is going to matter a lot. Growing a company requires an innovative leadership team. Without it, growth won’t happen.

Is growth rate hard and fast?

After all, companies that are boosting sales and earnings are going to be attractive investments for investors. When it comes to the growth rate of a winning stock, there isn’t any hard and fast rule. However, you do want to go with a company that has at least high double-digit growth.

Is a growth market a good market?

For any sized company to grow, it is going to have to play in a market that’s poised for growth or is already in growth mode. If the industry is at the tail end of its growth trajectory, it isn’t considered a growth market.

Do growth stocks pay dividends?

After all, growth stocks are companies that are expected to outpace their peers in terms of earnings and stock performance. While these stocks don’t usually pay out a dividend, the returns can be exponential. And as growth stock companies grow, they can even emerge into a dividend-paying company in the future.

What does it mean to buy a share of a company's stock?

Remember: Buying a share of a company's stock makes you a part owner of that business. “Remember: Buying a share of a company’s stock makes you a part owner of that business.”. You’ll come across an overwhelming amount of information as you screen potential business partners. But it’s easier to home in on the right stuff when wearing ...

Is NerdWallet an investment advisor?

NerdWallet, In c. is an independent publisher and comparison service, not an investment advisor. Its articles, interactive tools and other content are provided to you for free, as self-help tools and for informational purposes only. They are not intended to provide investment advice.

What are the best stocks to buy in April 2021?

With that in mind, here are nine of the best stocks to look into in April of 2021: 1. Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) The coronavirus pandemic is a horrible thing. More than 184 million people around the world have gotten sick, with more than 3.98 million people losing their lives.

Is all stocks created equal?

Not all stocks are created equal, and with a massive number of retail investors flooding into the market since the new year, it has been a bit of a wild ride. With unprecedented gains being created in the market, many expect a continuation of this recent increase in investment activity.

Is Gevo stock profitable?

Gevo (NASDAQ: GEVO) Gevo isn’t necessarily the type of company you would expect to see on a list like this. The company is anything but profitable, and the stock was still trading in the penny category in late 2020. Nonetheless, Gevo has seen an exceptional rise thus far in 2021.

Is Gevo stock still trading?

Gevo isn’t necessarily the type of company you would expect to see on a list like this. The company is anything but profitable, and the stock was still trading in the penny category in late 2020.

Why are dividend stocks so attractive?

Dividend stocks can provide the fixed income of bonds as well as the growth of individual stocks and stock funds. Dividends are regular cash payments companies pay to shareholders and are often associated with stable, profitable companies. While share prices of some dividend stocks may not rise as high or quickly as growth-stage companies, they can be attractive to investors because of the dividends and stability they provide.

What is the best investment for long term savings?

Best for: Index mutual funds are some of the best investments available for long-term savings goals. In addition to being more cost-effective due to lower fund management fees, index mutual funds are less volatile than actively managed funds that try to beat the market.

What is mutual fund?

A mutual fund pools cash from investors to buy stocks, bonds or other assets. Mutual funds offer investors an inexpensive way to diversify — spreading their money across multiple investments — to hedge against any single investment’s losses.

What is index fund?

An index fund is a type of mutual fund that holds the stocks in a particular market index (e.g., the S&P 500 or the Dow Jones Industrial Average). The aim is to provide investment returns equal to the underlying index’s performance, as opposed to an actively managed mutual fund that pays a professional to curate a fund’s holdings.

Why do people use money market funds?

Investors also use money market funds to hold a portion of their portfolio in a safer investment than stocks, or as a holding pen for money earmarked for future investment. While money market funds are technically an investment, don’t expect the higher returns (and higher risk) of other investments on this page.

What is money market mutual fund?

Money market mutual funds are an investment product, not to be confused with money market accounts, which are bank deposit accounts similar to savings accounts. When you invest in a money market fund, your money buys a collection of high-quality, short-term government, bank or corporate debt.

What is traditional real estate investing?

Traditional real estate investing involves buying a property and selling it later for a profit, or owning property and collecting rent as a form of fixed income. But there are several other, far more hands-off ways to invest in real estate.

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