Measuring Stock Performance

An informed and prudent investor uses a variety of measures such as financial ratios, book value, earnings per share, return on equity etc. to evaluate the worthiness and prospects of stocks he/she would invest in. It is important for you as an investor to understand how these values are calculated and what they mean.

Use the following tables to assess the worthiness of Verticon stock as an investment.

Verticon Stock Data (Current and Historical)

1:18PM EDT Today
Price	18.85 USD
Change	+0.64 (+3.51%)
Mkt cap	147.1B
Div/yield	0.20/4.24
Shares	8,012
Beta	0.70
Book/share	11.335
PE ratio	17

	One year ago	Two years ago	Three years ago
(Millions of Dollars)
Total Assets	195,014	195,949	111,148
Total Liabilities	107,201	122,935	53,592
Preferred Shareholders Equity	52	61	73
Common Shareholders Equity	87,761	72,953	57,483
Shares Outstanding	8,012	8,070	6746
Book/Share	?	9.040	8.521

	Q1 (this year)	Last year
Net profit margin	15.24%	12.24%
Return on equity	11.60%	9.30%

One of the most important features of a stock is its book value. The book value per share of Verticons stock last year was equal to .

Verticons book value per share has been since three years ago, a fact that reflects on the companys overall growth.

Based on the given price and , you can determine that Verticons EPS is equal to .