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Professional Trading MindsetOne of the most important psychological characteristics of winning traders is the ability to accept (1) risk and (2) the fact that you may well be wrong more often than you are right in initiating trades. Winning traders understand that trade management is actually a more important skill than market analysis. How to trade professionally? Start with a clear and concise plan with proven strategies and then leverage the 20 rules that follow. Stick to Your Discipline. ... Lose the Crowd. ... Engage Your Trading Plan. ... Don't Cut Corners. ... Avoid the Obvious. ... Don't Break Your Rules. ... Avoid Market Gurus. ... Use Your Intuition.
NSE:BANKNIFTYEducation
by SkyTradingZone
Technical Class 1 #SMC1In finance, technical analysis is an analysis methodology for analysing and forecasting the direction of prices through the study of past market data, primarily price and volume. Technical analysis is a means of examining and predicting price movements in the financial markets, by using historical price charts and market statistics. It is based on the idea that if a trader can identify previous market patterns, they can form a fairly accurate prediction of future price trajectories.
NSE:BANKNIFTYEducation
by SkyTradingZone
Option chainAn option chain is a comprehensive list that shows you all available option contracts for a given stock. These are sorted by their expiration date, which is the last day you can trade or use the option, and strike price, which is the price at which you can buy (call) or sell (put) the stock. An option chain is a valuable tool for traders who want to make informed decisions about their investments. It provides information on the strike price, expiration date, and the price of each option.
NSE:BANKNIFTYEducation
by SkyTradingZone
Silver DivergenceDivergence and Gold/Silver Ratio Gold and silver are thought to move together, and often they do. There are periods where the Gold Trust (GLD) and Silver Trust (SLV) move in opposite directions and periods where one metal outperforms the other. Gold is currently outperforming silver. Such discrepancies occur and are monitored by the gold/silver ratio. The gold/silver ratio shows how many ounces of silver it takes to buy an ounce of gold. Since 1975, the average is near 60; right now it stands near 80 ($1,187 divided by $14.99). While gold outperformance, or silver's underperformance relative to gold, was very noticeable in early 2016, this has actually been going on for a long time. The outperformance has become even more pronounced since 2016. To start 2016, gold traded at $1,069 and silver at $13.80 -- the gold/silver ratio of 77.5. As of Oct. 2018, it's at 80. Gold prices have risen relative to silver prices quite steadily for years. This is mainly due to silver price weakness since peaking near $50 in 2011 (when silver outperformed gold).
NSE:BANKNIFTYEducation
by SkyTradingZone
Trading Medicine Part 21. Long call. In this option trading strategy, the trader buys a call — referred to as “going long” a call — and expects the stock price to exceed the strike price by expiration. The upside on this trade is uncapped and traders can earn many times their initial investment if the stock soars. Options contracts are considered risky due to their complex nature, but investors who know how options work can reduce their risk. Various risk levels expose investors to loss of premiums, gains, and market value loss.
NSE:BANKNIFTYEducation
by SkyTradingZone
Trading Medicine Options are a type of contract that gives the buyer the right to buy or sell a security at a specified price at some point in the future. An option holder is essentially paying a premium for the right to buy or sell the security within a certain time frame. Is option trading profitable? Options trading is a risky endeavor but can be profitable if done correctly. There is no guarantee that any particular trading strategy will be consistently successful, but a few methods have proven to be effective more often than not.
NSE:BANKNIFTYEducation
by SkyTradingZone
PCR Part - 1What is PCR in share market? A Put-Call Ratio is a technical indicator used in derivative markets. It gauges market sentiment by comparing the open interest or trading volume of put options to call options. A high ratio generally suggests a bearish outlook, while a low ratio indicates a bullish sentiment. A PCR value below 1 is indicative of the fact that more Call options are being purchased relative to the Put options which signals that investors are anticipating a bullish outlook for the markets ahead.
NSE:BANKNIFTYEducation
by SkyTradingZone
MACD TRADING / Technical AnalysisMoving average convergence/divergence (MACD) is a technical indicator to help investors identify entry points for buying or selling. The MACD line is calculated by subtracting the 26-period exponential moving average (EMA) from the 12-period EMA. The MACD indicator (or oscillator) is a very popular indicator among traders around the world for identifying trends and reversals. It was invented around 1977 by Gerald Appel, who was looking for a quality indicator that could immediately be interpreted.
NSE:BANKNIFTYEducation
by SkyTradingZone
PCR Option Trading Investors use several financial measures to gauge the market temperament before parking their money into the same. Put call ratio is one such financial tool which proves useful for investors in more than one way. To understand the application and role of this financial measurement one needs to be well-versed in its basics. Here, we have elucidated the nitty-gritty of the same, including the put call ratio formula and other facts. Put Call Ratio Meaning Typically, a put-call ratio is a derivative indicator. It is designed to enable traders to determine the sentiment of the options market effectively. This ratio is computed either by factoring in the open interest for a given period or based on the volume of options trading. Also known as PCR, this particular ratio serves as a contrarian indicator and is mostly concerned with options build-up. Such an indicator helps determine the extent of bullish or bearish influence in the market. In other words, it helps traders to understand whether a recent increase or decrease in the market is excessive or not. Based on this information, traders decide if they should opt for a contrarian call in the prevailing market. Such an investment strategy is based on the practice of purchasing or selling investment units against the prevailing market conditions, to combat mispricing in the securities market. How is Put Call Ratio Calculated? Before learning about the put call ratio formula, it is crucial to understand the components of this ratio individually. For instance, the put option provides traders with the right to purchase assets at prefixed prices, whereas, the call option offers the right to purchase assets at the current market prices. Put call ratio calculation can be done in the following ways - Based on Open Interests of a Specific Day PCR is computed by dividing open interest in a put contract on a particular day by open call interest on the very same day. PCR (OI) = Put Open Interest/ Call Open Interest Based on the Volume of Options Trading Here PCR is computed by dividing the put trading volume by the call trading volume on a specific day. PCR (Volume) = Put Trading Volume/Call Trading Volume Here, Put volume indicates the total put options initiated over a specific time-frame. Conversely, Call volume indicates the total call options initiated over a specific time-frame. Notably, the interpretation of this said ratio differs as per the type of investor.
NSE:BANKNIFTYEducation
by SkyTradingZone
Option chain and Database Trading Nature of analysis. Option chain: An option chain primarily focuses on options contracts associated with an underlying asset, such as stocks, commodities, or indices. It provides information about the available options, their strike prices, expiration dates, bid-ask prices, and other contract-specific data. An option chain, also known as option matrix, is a list of all the option contracts available for a given security. It shows all listed puts, calls, expiry dates, strike prices, and volume and pricing information for a single underlying asset and within a given maturity period.
NSE:BANKNIFTYEducation
by SkyTradingZone
1
What is Rsi Indicator What Is the Relative Strength Index (RSI)? The relative strength index (RSI) is a momentum indicator used in technical analysis. RSI measures the speed and magnitude of a security's recent price changes to detect overvalued or undervalued conditions in the price of that security. The RSI is displayed as an oscillator (a line graph) on a scale of zero to 100. The indicator was developed by J. Welles Wilder Jr. and introduced in his seminal 1978 book, New Concepts in Technical Trading Systems. In addition to identifying overbought and oversold securities, the RSI can also indicate securities that may be primed for a trend reversal or a corrective pullback in price. It can signal when to buy and sell. Traditionally, an RSI reading of 70 or above indicates an overbought condition. A reading of 30 or below indicates an oversold condition.
NSE:BANKNIFTYEducation
by EmpireCrown
Part 1: Option Selling: A Simple Way to Earn Consistent PremiumsWe’ll explore the top 7 option-selling strategies on the NSE (National Stock Exchange) that could help traders target up to 10% monthly returns per Month on their capital. Option selling is an advanced strategy that can generate consistent income, but it’s important to balance high rewards with the right risk management. Whether you are new to options or an experienced trader, this guide will provide an overview of each strategy, rated based on its risk, reward, and suitability for achieving your financial goals. Option Selling on NSE: A Simple Way to Earn Consistent Premiums Introduction Option selling is a great way to make steady income on the NSE. Instead of waiting for big market moves, you can sell options and collect premium upfront. It’s a strategy that benefits from time decay, meaning the longer the option sits without action, the more money you can make. Let’s break down why it works and why traders love it on the NSE. What is Option Selling? When you sell an option, you’re giving someone the right to buy or sell an asset at a specific price. In return, you get paid a premium upfront. As long as the market stays within a certain range, you keep that money. Selling a Call: You profit if the price stays below a certain level. Selling a Put: You profit if the price stays above a certain level. It’s simple – the less the market moves, the more you earn. Why Traders Choose Option Selling 1. Immediate Income You get paid right away when you sell an option. No waiting for market moves, just steady income. 2. Time is Your Friend As time passes, options lose value due to time decay. This works in your favor as a seller, since the option becomes less likely to be exercised. 3. High Win Rate You don’t need big price moves. As long as the market stays within a range, you win. 4. Control Risk with Spreads You can limit your risk by using spreads, where you buy another option to protect yourself if the market moves too much. Why the NSE is Ideal for Option Selling: High Liquidity: Options like Nifty and Bank Nifty have a lot of buyers and sellers, so trades are easy to make.Low Capital Requirement: You need less money to sell options on the NSE compared to other strategies.Risk Control: With the wide variety of options, you can set up trades that limit your risk.
NSE:BANKNIFTYEducation
by Trade-Technique
3
Life of a Trader / Option's // StocksEmotional reactions Overcoming your emotions is another hurdle you may encounter as a new trader. You may make impulsive decisions out of greed, fear, anger, frustration, or excessive optimism. This can lead to losses, which in turn can reduce your confidence. To ensure you don't fall into the trap of your emotions, chalk out a detailed and rule-based strategy and try to follow it strictly. Review your trades regularly to learn from your mistakes and build stable trading behaviour. You can keep a trading journal and implement stop-loss orders to reduce emotional influence on your trading decisions. Overtrading Another common challenge that can come your way is the temptation to overtrade. You may feel tempted to overtrade to earn higher earnings or overcome losses quickly. However, more trades don’t necessarily translate into more money. Overtrading can increase your risk exposure and increase transaction costs. To overcome the temptation to overtrading, you can set predefined limits on daily or weekly trades and take a break when you reach the limit. You must also ensure that you engage in trades that align with your strategy and do not prioritise quantity over quality. Impatience As a new trader, you may lack the patience to stick to your trading strategy, especially during market fluctuations. You may opt for premature exits if gains don't materialise as quickly as expected. However, success in trading does not come overnight. You must wait for the right opportunities and patiently endure losses and phases of stagnation. A solution to this problem is to have a solid trading strategy with clear entry and exit criteria. Have faith in your plan and give it the time to work. Avoid changing your strategy too often. Once you have a solid strategy, be patient, wait for the right time and grab your opportunity. Poor risk management The stock market is highly volatile and unpredictable. One day, a stock can rise by 20% and plummet suddenly the following day. Such frequent changes in the price of an asset can overwhelm you. It also makes it challenging to plan your strategy and manage risks. You may feel tempted to chase high returns and take excessive risks. However, this can wipe out your capital in no time. This is why risk management is important in trading. Make sure your trades align not only with your strategy but also your risk profile. Before placing a trade, analyse your risk-per-trade and reward-to-risk ratio. Diversify investments to spread risks across different sectors and assets to protect your capital. Include clear entry and exit points and an emergency way in your strategy. Using stop-loss orders can also help tackle risks and minimise losses. Conclusion The stock market is both alluring and daunting. Without proper knowledge and skills, you may incur losses and even quit prematurely if things don't go as expected. However, understanding the challenges beginners often face and learning to overcome them can illuminate your path to success.
NSE:BANKNIFTYEducation
by EmpireCrown
HOW-TO apply an indicator that is only available upon request?Recently, I've realized that my typical day involves constant encounters with indicators. For example, when the alarm clock rings, it's an indicator that it's morning and time to get up. I am checking the phone and once again paying attention to the indicators: battery charge and network signal level. I figure out in just one second that such a complex element of the phone as the battery is 100% charged and the signal from the cell towers is good enough. Then I’m going out on a busy street, and it's only because of the traffic light indicator that I can safely cross the road to reach the parking lot. Looking at the on-board computer of my car, with its many indicators, I know that all the components of this complicated mechanism are working properly, and I can start driving. Now, imagine what would happen if none of this existed. I would have to act blindly, relying on luck: hoping that I would wake up on time, that the phone would work today, that car drivers would let me cross the road, and that my own car would not suddenly stop because it ran out of gas. We can say that indicators help to explain complex processes or phenomena in simple and understandable language. I think they will always be in demand in today's complex world, where we deal with a huge flow of information that cannot be perceived without simplifications. If we talk about the financial market, it's all about constant data, data, data. Add in the element of randomness and everything becomes totally messed up. To create indicators that simplify the analysis of financial information, the TradingView platform uses its own programming language — Pine Script . With this language, you can describe not only unique indicators, but also strategies — meaning algorithms for opening and closing positions. All these tools are grouped together under the term "script" . Just like a trade or educational idea, a script can also be published. After this, it will be available to other users. The published script can be: 1. Visible in the list of community scripts with unrestricted access. Simply find the script by its name and add it to the chart. 2. Visible in the list of community scripts, but access is by invitation only. You'll need to find the script by its name and request access from its author. 3. Not visible in the list of community scripts, but accessible via a link. To add such a script to a chart, you need to have the link. 4. Not visible in the list of community scripts; access is by invitation only. You'll need both a link to the script and permission for access obtained from its author. If you have added to your favorites a script that requires permission from the author, you'll only be able to start using the indicators after the author includes you in the script's user list. Without this, you will get an error message every time you add an indicator to the chart. In this case, contact the author to learn how to gain access. Instructions on how to contact the author are located after the script's description and highlighted within a frame. There you will also find the 'Add to favorite indicators' button. The access can be valid until a certain date or indefinitely. If the author has granted access, you will be able to add the script to the chart.
NSE:BANKNIFTYEducation
by Be_Capy
Price/Earnings: amazing interpretation #2In my previous post , we started to analyze the most popular financial ratio in the world – Price / Earnings or P/E (particularly one of the options for interpreting it). I said that P/E can be defined as the amount of money that must be paid once in order to receive 1 monetary unit of diluted net income per year. For American companies, it will be in US dollars, for Indian companies it will be in rupees, etc. In this post, I would like to analyze another interpretation of this financial ratio, which will allow you to look at P/E differently. To do this, let's look at the formula for calculating P/E again: P/E = Capitalization / Diluted earnings Now let's add some refinements to the formula: P/E = Current capitalization / Diluted earnings for the last year (*) (*) In my case, by year I mean the last 12 months. Next, let's see what the Current capitalization and Diluted earnings for the last year are expressed in, for example, in an American company: - Current capitalization is in $; - Diluted earnings for the last year are in $/year. As a result, we can write the following formula: P/E = Current capitalization / Diluted earnings for the last year = $ / $ / year = N years (*) (*) According to the basic rules of math, $ will be reduced by $, and we will be left with only the number of years. It's very unusual, isn't it? It turns out that P/E can also be the number of years! Yes, indeed, we can say that P/E is the number of years that a shareholder (investor) will need to wait in order to recoup their investments at the current price from the earnings flow, provided that the level of profit does not change . Of course, the condition of an unchangeable level of profit is very unrealistic. It is rare to find a company that shows the same profit from year to year. Nevertheless, we have nothing more real than the current capitalization of the company and its latest profit. Everything else is just predictions and probable estimates. It is also important to understand that during the purchase of shares, the investor fixates one of the P/E components - the price (P). Therefore, they only need to keep an eye on the earnings (E) and calculate their own P/E without paying attention to the current capitalization. If the level of earnings increases since the purchase of shares, the investor's personal P/E will decrease, and, consequently, the number of years to wait for recoupment. Another thing is when the earnings level, on the contrary, decreases – then an investor will face an increase in their P/E level and, consequently, an increase in the payback period of their own investments. In this case, of course, you have to think about the prospects of such an investment. You can also argue that not all 100% of earnings are spent paying dividends, and therefore you can’t use the level of earnings to calculate the payback period of an investment. Yes, indeed: it is rare for a company to give all of its earnings to dividends. However, the lack of a proper dividend level is not a reason to change anything in the formula or this interpretation at all, because retained earnings are the main fundamental driver of a company's capitalization growth. And whatever the investor misses out on in terms of dividends, they can get it in the form of an increase in the value of the shares they bought. Now, let's discuss how to interpret the obtained P/E value. Intuitively, the lower it is, the better. For example, if an investor bought shares at P/E = 100, it means that they will have to wait 100 years for their investment to pay off. That seems like a risky investment, doesn't it? Of course, one can hope for future earnings growth and, consequently, for a decrease in their personal P/E value. But what if it doesn’t happen? Let me give you an example. For instance, you have bought a country house, and so now you have to get to work via country roads. You have an inexpensive off-road vehicle to do this task. It does its job well and takes you to work via a road that has nothing but potholes. Thus, you get the necessary positive effect this inexpensive thing provides. However, later you learn that they will build a high-speed highway in place of the rural road. And that is exactly what you have dreamed of! After hearing the news, you buy a Ferrari. Now, you will be able to get to work in 5 minutes instead of 30 minutes (and in such a nice car!) However, you have to leave your new sports car in the yard to wait until the road is built. A month later, the news came out that, due to the structure of the road, the highway would be built in a completely different location. A year later your off-road vehicle breaks down. Oh well, now you have to get into your Ferrari and swerve around the potholes. It is not hard to guess what is going to happen to your expensive car after a while. This way, your high expectations for the future road project turned out to be a disaster for your investment in the expensive car. It works the same way with stock investments. If you only consider the company's future earnings forecast, you run the risk of being left alone with just the forecast instead of the earnings. Thus, P/E can serve as a measure of your risk. The higher the P/E value at the time you buy a stock, the more risk you take. But what is the acceptable level of P/E ? Oddly enough, I think the answer to this question depends on your age. When you are just beginning your journey, life gives you an absolutely priceless resource, known as time. You can try, take risks, make mistakes, and then try again. That's what children do as they explore the world around them. Or when young people try out different jobs to find exactly what they like. You can use your time in the stock market in the same manner - by looking at companies with a P/E that suits your age. The younger you are, the higher P/E level you can afford when selecting companies. Conversely, in my opinion, the older you are, the lower P/E level you can afford. To put it simply, you just don’t have as much time to wait for a return on your investment. So, my point is, the stock market perception of a 20-year-old investor should differ from the perception of a 50-year-old investor. If the former can afford to invest with a high payback period, it may be too risky for the latter. Now let's try to translate this reasoning into a specific algorithm. First, let's see how many companies we are able to find in different P/E ranges. As an example, let's take the companies that are traded on the NYSE (April 2023). As you can see from the table, the larger the P/E range, the more companies we can consider. The investor's task comes down to figuring out what P/E range is relevant to them in their current age. To do this, we need data on life expectancy in different countries. As an example, let's take the World Bank Group's 2020 data for several countries: Japan, India, China, Russia, Germany, Spain, the United States, and Brazil. To understand which range of P/E values to choose, you need to subtract your current age from your life expectancy: Life Expectancy - Your Current Age I recommend focusing on the country where you expect to live most of your life. Thus, for a 25-year-old male from the United States, the difference would be: 74,50 - 25 = 49,50 Which corresponds with a P/E range of 0 to 50. For a 60-year-old woman from Japan, the difference would be: 87,74 - 60 = 27,74 Which corresponds with a P/E range of 0 to 30. For a 70-year-old man from Russia, the difference would be: 66,49 - 70 = -3,51 In the case of a negative difference, the P/E range of 0 to 10 should be used. It doesn’t matter which country's stocks you invest in if you expect to live most of your life in Japan, Russia, or the United States. P/E indicates time, and time flows the same for any company and for you. So, this algorithm will allow you to easily calculate your acceptable range of P/E values. However, I want to caution you against making investment decisions based on this ratio alone. A low P/E value does not guarantee that you are free of risks . For example, sometimes the P/E level can drop significantly due to a decline in P (capitalization) because of extraordinary events, whose impact can only be seen in a future income statement (where we would learn the actual value of E - earnings). Nevertheless, the P/E value is a good indicator of the payback period of your investment, which answers the question: when should you consider buying a company's stock ? When the P/E value is in an acceptable range of values for you. But the P/E level doesn’t tell you what company to consider and what price to take. I will tell you about this in the next posts. See you soon!
Editors' picks
NSE:HDFCBANKEducation
by Be_Capy
8
Price / Earnings: Interpretation #1In one of my first posts , I talked about the main idea of ​​my investment strategy: buy great “things” during the sales season . This rule can be applied to any object of the material world: real estate, cars, clothes, food and, of course, shares of public companies. However, a seemingly simple idea requires the ability to understand both the quality of “things” and their value. Suppose we have solved the issue with quality (*). (*) A very bold assumption, I realize that. However, the following posts will cover this topic in more detail. Be a little patient. So, we know the signs of a high-quality thing and are able to define it skilfully enough. But what about its cost? "Easy-peasy!" you will say, "For example, I know that the Mercedes-Benz plant produces high-quality cars, so I should just find out the prices for a certain model in different car dealerships and choose the cheapest one." "Great plan!" I will say. But what about shares of public companies? Even if you find a fundamentally strong company, how do you know if it is expensive or cheap? Let's imagine that the company is also a machine. A machine that makes profit. It needs to be fed with resources, things are happening in there, some cogs are turning, and as a result we get earnings. This is its main goal and purpose. Each machine has its own name, such as Apple or McDonald's. It has its own resources and mechanisms, but it produces one product – earnings. Now let’s suppose that the capitalization of the company is the value of such a machine. Let's see how much Apple and McDonald's cost today: Apple - $2.538 trillion McDonald's - $202.552 billion We see that Apple is more than 10 times more expensive than McDonald's. But is it really so from an investor's point of view? The paradox is that we can't say for sure that Apple is 10 times more expensive than McDonald's until we divide each company's value by its earnings. Why exactly? Let's count and it will become clear: Apple's diluted net income - $99.803 a year McDonald's diluted net income - $6.177 billion a year Now read this phrase slowly, and if necessary, several times: “The value is what we pay now. Earnings are what we get all the time” . To understand how many dollars we need to pay now for the production of 1 dollar of profit a year, we need to divide the value of the company (its capitalization) by its annual profit. We get: Apple - $25.43 McDonald’s - $32.79 It turns out that in order to get $1 profit a year, for Apple we need to pay $25.43, and for McDonald's - $32.79. Wow! Currently, I believe that Apple appears cheaper than McDonald's. To remember this information better, imagine two machines that produce one-dollar bills at the same rate (once a year). In the case of an Apple machine, you pay $25.43 to issue this bill, and in the case of a McDonald’s machine, you pay $32.70. Which one will you choose? So, if we remove the $ symbol from these numbers, we get the world's most famous financial ratio Price/Earnings or P/E . It shows how much we, as investors, need to pay for the production of 1 unit of annual profit. And pay only once. There are two formulas for calculating this financial ratio: 1. P/E = Price of 1 share / Diluted EPS 2. P/E = Capitalization / Diluted Net Income Whatever formula you use, the result will be the same. By the way, I mainly use the Diluted Net Income instead of the regular one in my calculations. So do not be confused if you see a formula with a Net Income – you can calculate it this way as well. So, in the current publication, I have analyzed one of the interpretations of this financial ratio. But, in fact, there is another interpretation that I really like. It will help you realize which P/E level to choose for yourself. But more on that in the next post. See you!
NSE:NIFTYEducation
by Be_Capy
What can financial ratios tell us?In the previous post we learned what financial ratios are. These are ratios of various indicators from financial statements that help us draw conclusions about the fundamental strength of a company and its investment attractiveness. In the same post, I listed the financial ratios that I use in my strategy, with formulas for their calculations. Now let's take apart each of them and try to understand what they can tell us. - Diluted EPS . Some time ago I have already told about the essence of this indicator. I would like to add that this is the most influential indicator on the stock market. Financial analysts of investment companies literally compete in forecasts, what will be EPS in forthcoming reports of the company. If they agree that EPS will be positive, but what actually happens is that it is negative, the stock price may fall quite dramatically. Conversely, if EPS comes out above expectations - the stock is likely to rise strongly during the coverage period. - Price to Diluted EPS ratio . This is perhaps the best-known financial ratio for evaluating a company's investment appeal. It gives you an idea of how many years your investment in a stock will pay off if the current EPS is maintained. I have a particular take on this ratio, so I plan to devote a separate publication to it. - Gross margin, % . This is the size of the markup to the cost of the company's product (service) or, in other words, margin . It is impossible to say that small margin is bad, and large - good. Different companies may have different margins. Some sell millions of products by small margins and some sell thousands by large margins. And both of those companies may have the same gross margins. However, my preference is for those companies whose margins grow over time. This means that either the prices of the company's products (services) are going up, or the company is cutting production costs. - Operating expense ratio . This ratio is a great indicator of management's ability to manage a company's expenses. If the revenue increases and this ratio decreases, it means that the management is skillfully optimizing the operating expenses. If it is the other way around, shareholders should wonder how well management is handling current affairs. - ROE, % is a ratio reflecting the efficiency of a company's equity performance. If a company earned 5% of its equity, i.e. ROE = 5%, and the bank deposit rate = 7%, then shareholders have a reasonable question: why invest equity in business development, if it can be placed in a bank deposit and get more, without expending extra effort? In other words, ROE, % reflects the return on invested equity. If it is growing, it is definitely a positive factor for the company and the shareholders. - Days payable . This financial ratio is an excellent indicator of the solvency of the company. We can say that it is the number of days it will take the company to pay all debts to suppliers from its revenue. If the number of days is relatively small, it means that the company has no delays in paying for supplies and therefore no money problems. I consider less than 30 days to be acceptable, but over 90 days is critical. - Days sales outstanding . I already mentioned in my previous posts that when a company is having a bad sales situation, it may even sell its products on credit. Such debts accumulate in accounts receivable. Obviously, large accounts receivable are a risk for the company, because the debts may simply not be paid back. For ease of control over this indicator, they invented such a financial ratio as "Days sales outstanding". We can say that this is the number of days it will take the company to earn revenue equivalent to the accounts receivable. It's one thing if the receivables are 365 daily revenue and another if it's only 10 daily revenue. Like the previous ratio: less than 30 days is acceptable to me, but over 90 days is critical. - Inventory to revenue ratio . This is the amount of inventory in relation to revenue. Since inventory includes not only raw materials but also unsold products, this ratio can indicate sales problems. The more inventory a company has in relation to revenue, the worse it is. A ratio below 0.25 is acceptable to me; a ratio above 0.5 indicates that there are problems with sales. - Current ratio . This is the ratio of current assets to current liabilities. Remember, we said that current assets are easier and faster to sell than non-current, so they are also called quick assets. In the event of a crisis and lack of profit in the company, quick assets can be an excellent help to make payments on debts and settlements with suppliers. After all, they can be sold quickly enough to pay off these liabilities. To understand the size of this "safety cushion", the current ratio is calculated. The larger it is, the better. For me, a suitable current ratio is 2 or higher. But below 1 it does not suit me. - Interest coverage . We already know that loans play an important role in a company's operations. However, I am convinced that this role should not be the main one. If a company spends all of its profits to pay interest on loans, it is working for the bank, not for the shareholders. To find out how tangible interest on loans is for the company, the "Interest coverage" ratio was invented. According to the income statement, interest on loans is paid out of operating income. So if we divide the operating income by this interest, we get this ratio. It shows us how many times more the company earns than it spends on debt service. To me, the acceptable coverage ratio should be above 6, and below 3 is weak. - Debt to revenue ratio . This is a useful ratio that shows the overall picture of the company's debt situation. It can be interpreted the following way: it shows how much revenue should be earned in order to close all the debts. A debt to revenue ratio of less than 0.5 is positive. It means that half (or even less) of the annual revenue will be enough to close the debt. A debt to revenue ratio higher than 1 is considered a serious problem since the company does not even have enough annual revenue to pay off all of its debts. So, the financial ratios greatly simplify the process of fundamental analysis, because they allow you to quickly draw conclusions about the financial condition of the company, without looking up and down at its statements. You just look at ratios of key indicators and draw conclusions. In the next post, I will tell you about the king of all financial ratios - the Price to Diluted EPS ratio, or simply P/E. See you soon!
NSE:RELIANCEEducation
by Be_Capy
Financial ratios: digesting them togetherI hope that after studying the series of posts about company financial statements, you stopped being afraid of them. I suggest we build on that success and dive into the fascinating world of financial ratios. What is it? Let's look at the following example. Let's say you open up a company's balance sheet and see that the amount of debt is $100 million. Do you think this is a lot or a little? To me, it's definitely a big deal. But can we say the company has a huge debt based only on how we feel about it? I don't think so. However, if you find that a company that generates $10 billion in annual revenue has $100 million in debt (i.e. only 1% of revenue), what would you say then? That's objectively small, isn't it? It turns out that without correlating one indicator with another, we cannot draw any objective conclusion. This correlation is called the Financial Ratio . The recipe for a normal financial ratio is simple: we take one or two indicators from the financial statements, add some market data, put it all into a formula that includes a division operation - we obtain the financial ratio. In TradingView you can find a lot of financial ratios in the section Financials -> Statistics . However, I only use a few financial ratios which give me an idea about the financial situation of the company and its value: What can you notice when looking at this table? - Profit and revenue are frequent components of financial ratios because they are universal units of measurement for other reporting components. Just as length can be measured in feet and weight in pounds, a company's debts can be measured in revenues. - Some financial ratios are ratios, some are percentages, and some are days. - There are no financial ratios in the table whose data source is the Cash Flow Statement. The fact is that cash flows are rarely used in financial ratios because they can change drastically from quarter to quarter. This is especially true for financial and investment cash flow. That's why I recommend analyzing cash flows separately. In my next post, I'll break down each financial ratio from this table in detail and explain why I use them specifically. See you soon!
Editors' picks
NSE:BANKNIFTY1!Education
by Be_Capy
1
Cash flow vibrationsIn the previous post we started to analyze the Cash flow statement. From it, we learned about the existence of three cash flows - operating cash flow, financial cash flow, and investment cash flow. Like three rivers, they fill the company's "lake of cash" (that is, they go with a "+" sign). However, there are three other rivers that flow out of our lake, preventing it from expanding indefinitely. What are their names? They have absolutely identical names: operating cash flow, financial cash flow, and investment cash flow (and they go with a "-" sign). Why so? Because all of the company's outgoing payments can also be divided into these three rivers: Operating payments include the purchase of raw materials, the payment of wages - everything related to the production and support of the product. Financial payments include repayment of debt and interest on it, payment of dividends, or buyback of shares from shareholders. Investment payments include the purchase of non-current assets (say, the purchase of additional buildings or shares in another company). If the inflows from the three rivers on the left are greater than the outflows into the rivers on the right, then our lake will increase in volume, meaning that the company's cash balances will grow. If the outflows into the three rivers on the right are greater than the inflows from the rivers on the left, the lake will become shallow and eventually dry up. So, the cash flow statement shows how much our lake has increased or decreased over the period (quarter or year). This report can be presented as four entries: Each value of A, B, and C is the difference between what came into our lake from the river and what flowed out of the lake by the river of the same name. That is, the value can be either positive or negative. How can we interpret the meanings of the different flows? Let's break down each of them. Operating cash flow . In a fundamentally strong company, it is the most stable and powerful river. The implication is that it should be the main source of "water" for our lake. Negative operating cash flow is an indicator of serious problems with the business because it means it is not generating money. Investment cash flow . This is the most unpredictable river, as sometimes it can be very powerful and sometimes it can flow like a thin trickle. This is due to the fact that the purchase or sale of non-current assets (recall that these may be buildings, equipment, shares in other companies) does not occur as regularly as operational activities. A sudden negative investment flow tells us about some big purchase. Shareholders do not always view such events positively, as they may consider it an unwise expenditure or a threat to dividend payments. Therefore, they may start to sell their shares, which causes their price to drop. If a big purchase is perceived as an opportunity to reach the next level and capture more market share, then we may see exactly the opposite effect - an increase in share price. Financial cash flow . A negative value of this cash flow can be seen as a very positive signal because it means that the company is either actively reducing its debt to creditors, or using the money to pay dividends, or spending the money to buy its own stock (*), or maybe all of these together. (*) Here you may ask, why would a company buy its own stock? Management sometimes does this when they are confident in the success of their business and want to support the growth of their stock. The company becomes a major buyer of its own stock for some time so that it begins to grow. The process itself is called share buyback . Positive financial cash flow, on the other hand, signals either an increase in debt or the sale of its own stock. As far as debt is concerned, you can't say that loans are bad for business. But there has to be a measure. But the sale by a company of its own shares is already an alarming signal to the current shareholders. It means that the company doesn't have enough money coming out of operating cash flow. There is another type of cash flow that is not a separate "river," but is used as information about how much cash the company has left to meet its obligations to creditors and shareholders. This is Free cash flow . It is simple to calculate: just subtract one of the components of the investment cash flow from the operating cash flow. This component is called Capital expenditures (often abbreviated as CAPEX). Capital expenditures include outgoing payments that go toward the purchase of non-current assets , such as land, buildings, equipment, etc. (Free cash flow = Operating cash flow - Capital expenditures) Free cash flow can be characterized as the "living" money that a company has created over a period, which can be used to repay loans, pay dividends, and buyback stocks from shareholders. If free cash flow is very weak or even negative, it is a reason for creditors, shareholders and investors to think about how the company is doing business. This concludes my discussion of the cash flow statement topic. Next time, let's talk about the magic ratios that you can get from a company's financial statements. They greatly facilitate the process of fundamental analysis and are widely used by investors around the world. We will talk about the so-called Financial Ratios . See you soon!
NSE:TATAMOTORSEducation
by Be_Capy
2
Cash flow statement or Three great riversToday we're going to start taking apart the third and final report that the company publishes each quarter and year - it's Cash flow statement. Remember, when we studied the balance sheet , we learned that one of the company's assets is cash in accounts. This is a very important asset because if the company doesn't have money in the account, it can't buy raw materials, pay employees' salaries, etc. What, in general, is a "company" in the eyes of an accountant? These are assets that have been purchased on credit or with equity, for the purpose of earning a net income for its shareholders or investing that income in further growth. That is, the source of cash in a company's account may be profits . But why do I say "may be"? The point is that it's possible to have a situation where profits are positive on the income statement, but there is no money physically in the account. To make sense of this, let's remember the workshop I use in all the examples. Suppose our master sold all of his boots on credit. That is, he was promised payment, but later. He ended up with a receivable in assets and, most interestingly, generated revenue. The accountant will calculate the revenue for these sales, despite the fact that the shop hasn't actually received the money yet. Then the accountant will deduct the expenses from the revenue, and the result will be a profit. But there is zero money in the account. So what should our master do? The orders are coming in, but there is nothing to pay for the raw materials. In such circumstances, while the master is waiting for the repayment of debts from customers, he himself borrows from the bank to top up his current account with money. Now let us make his situation more complicated. Let us assume that the money borrowed he still does not have enough, and the bank does not give more. The only thing left is to sell some of his property, that is, some of his assets. Remember, when we took apart the assets of the workshop , the master had shares in an oil company. This is something he could sell without hurting the production process. Then there is enough money in the checking account to produce boots uninterrupted. Of course, this is a wildly exaggerated example, since more often than not, profits are money, after all, and not the virtual records of an accountant. Nevertheless, I gave this example to make it clear that cash in the account and profit are related, but still different concepts. So what does the cash flow statement show? Let's engage our imagination again. Imagine a lake with three rivers flowing into it on the left and three rivers flowing out on the right. That is, on one side the lake feeds on water, and on the other side it gives it away. So the asset called "cash" on the balance sheet is the lake. And the amount of cash is the amount of water in that lake. Let's now name the three rivers that feed our lake. Let's call the first river the operating cash flow . When we receive the money from product sales, the lake is filled with water from the first river. The second river on the left is called the financial cash flow . This is when we receive financing from outside, or, to put it simply, we borrow. Since this is money received into the company's account, it also fills our lake. The third river let's call investment cash flow . This is the flow of money we get from the sale of the company's non-current assets. In the example with the master, these were assets in the form of oil company stock. Their sale led to the replenishment of our notional money lake. So we have a lake of money, which is filled thanks to three flows: operational, financial, and investment. That sounds great, but our lake is not only getting bigger, but it's also getting smaller through the three outgoing flows. I'll tell you about that in my next post. See you soon!
Editors' picks
NSE:HDFCBANKEducation
by Be_Capy
8
What should I look at in the Income statement?The famous value investor, Mohnish Pabrai , said in one of his lectures that when he visited Warren Buffett, he noticed a huge handbook with the financial statements of thousands of public companies. It's a very dull reading, isn't it? Indeed, if you focus on every statement item - you'll waste a lot of time and sooner or later fall asleep. However, if you look at the large volumes of information from the perspective of an intelligent investor, you can find great interest in the process. It is wise to identify for yourself the most important statement items and monitor them in retrospect (from quarter to quarter). In previous posts, we've broken down the major items on the Income statement and the EPS metric: Part 1: The Income statement: the place where profit lives Part 2: My precious-s-s-s EPS Let's now highlight the items that interest me first. These are: - Total revenue The growth of revenue shows that the company is doing a good job of marketing the product, it is in high demand, and the business is increasing its scale. - Gross profit This profit is identical to the concept of margin. Therefore, an increase in gross profit indicates an increase in the margin of the business, i.e. its profitability. - Operating expenses This item is a good demonstration of how the management team is dealing with cost reductions. If operating expenses are relatively low and decreasing while revenue is increasing, that's terrific work by management, and you can give it top marks. - Interest expense Interest on debts should not consume a company's profits, otherwise, it will not work for the shareholders, but for the banks. Therefore, this item should also be closely monitored. - Net income It's simple here. If a company does not make a profit for its shareholders, they will dump its shares*. *Now, of course, you can dispute with me and give the example of, let's say, Tesla shares. There was a time when they were rising, even when the company was making losses. Indeed, Elon Musk's charisma and grand plans did the trick - investors bought the company's stock at any price. You could say that our partner Mr. Market was truly crazy at the time. I'm sure you can find quite a few such examples. All such cases exist because investors believe in future profits and don't see current ones. However, it is important to remember that sooner or later Mr. Market sobers up, the hype around the company goes away, and its losses stay with you. - EPS Diluted You could say it's the money the company earns per common share. So, I'm finishing up a series of posts related to the Income statement. This statement shows how much the company earns and how much it spends over a period (quarter or year). We've also identified the items that you should definitely watch out for in this report. That's all for today. In the next post, we will break down the last of the three financial statements of a public company - the Cash flow statement. Goodbye and see you later!
NSE:NIFTYEducation
by Be_Capy