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Financial Glossary

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Term Definition Area used
1 Month Change Where a consensus forecast value for the relevant period existed one month previously, the change indicates in pence the amount by which the latest consensus value has moved up (+) or down (-). The calculation is as follows:

Latest consensus value - Consensus value 1 month ago = Change 		Broker forecast
3 Month Change Where a consensus forecast value for the relevant period existed three months previously, the change indicates in pence the amount by which the latest consensus value has moved up (+) or down (-). The calculation is as follows:

Latest consensus value - Consensus value 3 months ago = Change 		Broker forecast
52W High The highest close of day price achieved by the security or fund during the past year. Share Prices
52W Low The lowest close of day price achieved by the security or fund during the past year. Share Prices

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A
Term Definition Area used
ACC Accept bid / Offer Broker forecast
ACCU Accumulate Broker forecast
ACQ Acquire Broker forecast
Activities A brief description of the business of the company Company summary
ADD Add Broker forecast
AGM Annual General Meeting. The annual meeting where shareholders formally approve the directors' actions on their behalf during the past financial year and adopt the Annual Report and Accounts. It is also the meeting at which Directors generally retire and are formally appointed. General
AIM Alternative Investment Market. The official Stock Exchange market for dealing in the shares of usually smaller UK-registered companies. General
Alternative Investment Market See AIM General
Annual General Meeting See AGM General
Annual Report All quoted companies have a legal obligation to send shareholders annual results within six months of their financial year-end. This is a status report on the current condition of a company. General
Annualised values A standard length accounting period is taken to be 12 months or 52 weeks. To enable different periods within the 7-year performance table to be reasonably compared, all relevant values for a non-standard period are arithmetically converted to an annualised basis; this includes the consensus forecasts. For example, a turnover value of £60m for a reported 9-month period, becomes £80m on an annualised basis. Annualised values must, however, be regarded with caution, since they can signify seasonal variations in performance which a year-end change is often intended to smooth out. The detailed individual broker forecasts, shown separately, are not converted in this way, and remain as reported by each broker (subject to any adjustment for share capital charges). Attention is drawn to footnotes describing the circumstances and period to which individual forecasts relate. Similarly, values given in the shaded panel for last historic normalised EPS, turnover and pre-tax profits remain as reported by the company. When a suffix indicates a non-standard period, and its length in months, these three values are Broker forecast
Ask The best price market makers are willing to sell the share. Share Prices
Assumed sale/purchase Whether a transaction is a purchase or a sale is judged on the basis of the trade price in relation to the mid-price at the time the trade is published, e.g. if the trade price is greater than the mid-price, a purchase is assumed and visa versa. Large trades can be subject to a delay in publication which may result in an unreliable interpretation. Graphing
ATR Attractive Broker forecast
Audit committee The audit committee is responsible for the co-ordination of the annual audit, monitoring the integrity of the financial statements of the company, and monitoring and reviewing the external auditor's independence, objectivity and effectiveness. The audit committee is also responsible for reviewing the requirement for an internal control function. Committees
The accountancy practice that performs the official examination (audit) of the company's accounts. Advisers
Available for dividends The total amount of cash that could be paid in dividends i.e. profit after tax, minorities and preference share dividends. Prices
Ave. no. employees (excluding Dir.) The number of employees, excluding directors at the time of the last annual report Company summary
AVOI Avoid Broker forecast
AWEV Await events Broker forecast
AWOF Await offer Broker forecast

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B
Term Definition Area used
Balance Sheet The balance sheet provides a snapshot of the company's assets, liabilities and financing. Usually published twice or more a year. Balance Sheet
Bank The bank that handles a company's financial transactions. Advisers
BCV Buy convertible Broker forecast
Bear A person who expects prices of shares, and consequently the value of the Stock Market itself, to fall. General
Best bid The best market makers price to buy a security or instrument Prices
Best offer The best market makers price to sell a security or instrument Prices
Bid The best price market makers are willing to buy the share. Share Prices
Bid price The price in the market which a prospective buyer is prepared to pay (BID) to acquire the share. The lower value of the prices in the Bid to Offer spread. The price received when the shares are sold. Prices
BINC Buy for income Broker forecast
BLOW Buy lower down Broker forecast
Blue Chip The largest UK-registered companies traded on the Stock Exchange. The constituents of the FTSE 100 Index of largest UK-registered companies. The most highly valued and reputable UK-registered companies on the Stock Exchange. General
Bollinger bands Bollinger Bands are charted by calculating a simple moving average of the closing price, then creating two bands a specified number of standard deviations above and below the moving average.

These bands narrow and widen in line with volatility - narrow in calm markets and wide in volatile markets. The narrowing of the bands often indicates the start of a new trend, which is confirmed when prices break and close out of the band. 		General
Bonds Debt instruments issued by a company or other borrower instead of shares, as a way to raise finance. Can be listed on the Stock Exchange and traded like shares. General
Bonus Issue The issue of new shares to an existing shareholder, but at no extra cost. A means for the company to distribute historic retained profits to shareholders. General
BOW Buy on weakness Broker forecast
BREC Buy for recovery Broker forecast
Broker Brokers act as agents for buyers and sellers for which they charge a commission, or brokerage. There are two main categories of brokers: inter-dealer brokers who only work with specialist market makers, and client or agency brokers who deal on behalf of institutional or retail clients. For further information click here. Click here to view this information in .pdf format (best for printing). Advisers
Broker Forecasts Brokers estimate the future performance of a company usually based on key indicators: pre-tax profit, EPS and DPS. Two future year estimates are shown for each UK-registered company (the current and next financial period). These figures are used to calculate the forecast consensus of all brokers for an individual company. Broker forecast
Brokers Note The document recording the details of an investor's dealing transaction. Broker forecast
Bull A person who expects the price of shares, and consequently the value of the Stock Market itself, to rise. General
BUY Buy Broker forecast
Buy/Sell Indicator A graphical representation to the cumulative "BUY", "SELL" and "?" volumes traded on the day. Share Prices
BYIE Buy for yield Broker forecast

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C
Term Definition Area used
Candlesticks Candlesticks capture the same price information as a bar chart: the open, high, low and close. A thick box (known as the body of the candle) joins the open and close values. Thin lines on either end of the body (known as shadows) join the high and low prices. If the open value is higher than the close value, the body of the candle is solid or coloured. Conversely, if the close is higher than the open then the body of the candle is clear, white or unshaded. Graphing
Capital expenditure Monies expended on long term assets that represent an enduring benefit to the business. Cash flow statement
Capital expenditure and other Net cash spent on fixed assets bought and sold, subsidiary disposals and purchases and investment gains and losses. Cash flow statement
Cash and securities Cash is money deposited in a bank or in a liquid asset. Securities are rights over certain assets given as assurances against a loan or overdraft. Balance Sheet
Cash flow per share Cash flow can be regarded as the volume of cash, generated by the trading operations of the business out of which the ordinary dividend must be funded.

Cash flow per share = Cash flow (£)/weighted average no. shares in issue

where

Cash flow = Net cash inflow from operating activities + returns on investment - Servicing of financing - taxation

Where

Operating profit = Depreciation charges + asset write downs + net increase in provisions - share of associates profits (net) - profits (net of losses) on asset disposals - currency translation profits (net) - net increase in stocks - net increase in debtors + net increase in creditors

Returns on investments = interest received + dividends received from associates + other investment receipts

Servicing of finance (except dividends paid to ordinary shareholders) = interest paid - dividends paid to preference shareholders - dividends paid to minority prefs 		Cash flow statement
Cash flow statement The cash flow statement compares the amount of cash coming into the company with that flowing out. It shows how the operations of a company have been financed during the accounting period, and how the financial resources have been used. Cash flow statement
Cash from operating activities Profit before taking into account interest and corporation tax. Cash flow statement
CAUT Caution Broker forecast
Change (%) The share price change on the day, as a percentage. Share Prices
Change (p) The share price change on the day, in pence. Share Prices
Close period The period, generally of two months, prior to the company's release of its Interim or Preliminary results, when the directors are not permitted to trade in the shares of the company. General
Closing share price A company's share price at the end of trading on a particular day. Company summary
Company The separate legal entity in which an investor is able to acquire a share stake, representing his part ownership of a business. General
Consensus Hemscott broker consensus forecasts are date weighted giving more weight to more recent forecasts. Each forecast is date-weighted over 180 days, giving maximum emphasis to the most recent forecast, and reducing progressively to zero emphasis for a forecast six months old.

Example 		Broker forecast
Contract Note See Brokers Note Broker forecast
CORE Core sector holding Broker forecast
CORP Corporate Broker forecast
Creditors long Loans that are not due to be repaid in the next twelve months Balance Sheet
Creditors short Loans that are due to be repaid in the next twelve months Balance Sheet
CUM The normal status for buying the company's shares with all normal rights to future dividends and share issues. Also see EX. General

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D
Term Definition Area used
Date The date shows when each current unaltered forecast was first published. The date changes if an element of the forecast is revised. If the current forecast is an upgrade (or downgrade) of an earlier forecast for the same period, a plus (or minus) sign is shown against the appropriate forecast element. If the current forecast has been reconfirmed since being first published, the reconfirmation date is recorded and, though not shown, is taken into account when date-weighting the consensus. When calculating the date-weighting, the reference point is moved forward to midway between first publication date and latest reconfirmation date. Broker forecast
Day Vol. Cumulative volume of shares traded Share Prices
Day Vol. Cumulative volume of shares traded Share Prices
Debtors Cash, goods or services owed to the company Balance Sheet
DEFH Defensive hold Broker forecast
DHOL Dull hold Broker forecast
Director Dealings Hemscott provides one year of history for director dealing of more than £2,500 in value. Director dealings
Div yield The annualised gross dividend per share for the last reported period expressed as a percentage of the latest share price. The calculation for dividend yield is as follows:

Div yield (%) = 100 * Gross dividend per share (net dividend *100/90)/latest share price 		Prices
Dividend cover Dividend cover expresses a company's ability to pay ordinary dividends to shareholders out of profits earned. It shows how many times the ordinary dividend is covered by profits available.

Dividend Cover = Earning per share (EPS) / Dividend per share (DPS) 		Profit and loss
Dividend The payment by the company to its shareholders of a proportion of the profits earned during the financial period. Usually paid as an interim dividend at mid year and a final dividend at the end of the financial year once the final business accounts are prepared and the results known. Company summary
DNAO Do not accept offer Broker forecast
DPS Payment made to shareholders out of the profits of a company. There are 5 types of dividend: interim, final, 1st quarter, 3rd quarter and special. Ex Date is the date after which buying the share after does not entitle the buyer to receive the most recently declared dividend. Payment Date is the date when the dividend is payable to shareholders on the register at the Record Date. Record Date is the date on which a shareholder must officially own shares in order to be entitled to the dividend. Dividends are expressed in pence. Prices
DPS growth How much the Dividend per share (DPS) has grown when measured against the previous period.

DPS growth (%)= 100 * ((This years DPS - Previous DPS) / Previous DPS) 		Profit and loss
DY (%) The annualised gross dividend per share for the last reported period expressed as a percentage of the latest share price. The calculation for dividend yield is as follows.

Div yield (%) = 100 * Gross dividend per share (net dividend *100/90)/latest share price 		Share Prices
Earnings The profit earned by the company during the financial period, which is available to pay dividends. Usually expressed on a per share basis as Earnings per Share (or EPS) and used as the key element of the Price Earnings Ratio (or PER or P/E Ratio) in judging comparative values. General

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E
Term Definition Area used
EGM Extraordinary General Meeting. A meeting of shareholders to discuss and approve special matters proposed by the directors, such as approval of a take-over, or major acquisition. General
ENEG Equal weight negative Broker forecast
ENEU Equal weight neutral Broker forecast
EPIC The London Stock Exchange code for each security. EPIC is an acronym for Exchange Price Information Code. General
EPOS Equal weight positive Broker forecast
Equity dividends paid The effect on cash of dividends paid during the financial year. Cash flow statement
Equity The voting capital in the company, represented by the ordinary shares. Company Summary
ESOP Employee share ownership plan. A trust established by a company for the allocation of some of its shares to its employees over time, intended to motivate employees, and often providing tax benefits to the company. Also called stock option plan or stock purchase plan. Director dealings
Estimates Estimates are shown for pre-tax profit ('Pre-tax'), earnings per share ('EPS') and dividend per share ('DPS'). Note that estimates for forecast pre-tax profit and EPS should be compared with the normalised historic pre-tax profit and EPS in the financial summary table. The individual estimates for the current and following years provided by each broker are adjusted when circumstances dictate, so that direct comparison can be made with the estimates of other contributing brokers, and with the five-year historic values provided in the adjacent financial summary table. Broker forecast
EWGT Equal weight Broker forecast
EWMA An exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) is calculated by applying a percentage of today's closing price to yesterday's moving average value, placing more weight on recent prices. Graphing
Ex Date Ex Date is the date after which buying the share after does not entitle the buyer to receive the most recently declared dividend. Key Dates
EX Used to indicate that the share is currently available in the market with a lack of certain specific rights and conditions. This might be ex dividend (or XD) where a purchaser is not entitled to the next declared dividend, or ex rights (or XR) where the holder is not able to participate in a proposed new share issue by the company to existing holders on preferential terms. Also see CUM. General
Exceptional items Any item that is part of the ordinary activities of a company, but which, due to its size or nature needs to be disclosed if the accounts are to give a true and fair view of the company's financial position. Profit and loss
Exclusion of outlying forecasts The broker consensus calculation has been refined to reduce the impact of outlying forecasts. A date-weighting method is applied after first excluding any forecasts which fall significantly outside the norm. The steps followed are:
1. A date-weighted average of all qualifying forecasts is calculated.
2. When there are more than two qualifying forecasts, the standard deviation's established
3. Any forecast with more than one standard deviation either side of this date-weighted average is eliminated.
4. A date-weighted average of the remaining forecasts gives the consensus.
To summarise, the consensus is the date-weighted average of those forecasts lying within one standard deviation of a date-weighted average of the whole population of forecasts. 		Broker forecast
Executive directors Directors involved in the day-to-day running of a company Directors
Executive officer An employee of a listed company who holds a position of responsibility but does not sit on the board e.g. company secretary, head of personnel Directors
Exercise To implement the rights of an option, by buying (in the case of call options) or selling (in the case of put options) the underlying asset. General
Expenses Any cost which reduces the profit of a particular accounting period. Profit and loss
Extraordinary General Meeting See EGM General

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F
Term Definition Area used
FAIR Fair value Broker forecast
Fast Stockastics The theory behind stockastics is that as an upward trend begins to tire, closing prices will fall towards the bottom of the recent range of intra day prices whereas they will have been towards the top of the range when the trend was in full flow. Stockastics is used to indicate an overbought/oversold market.

Fast Stochastics consists of two lines, %K and %D: The %K line measures, as a percentage, where the current close is, in relation to the lowest low over the observation period (in this case 14 days). This is shown on a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 is the observation period low, and 100 is the observation period high. The %D line is a Simple Moving Average of the %K.

Trading signals are generated by the crossover of these two lines. 		Graphing
Final Results The announcement and publication of the company's financial results for its latest business period, or financial year, in the form of the Annual Report and Accounts. See also Prelims. General
Financial Advisor The bank or other financial institution that will advise a company on their financial activities such as mergers and acquisitions. Advisers
Financial PR A public relations agency that deals the with the listed companies relations with the investor community. Advisers
Financing All transactions relating to raising funds to operate the business Cash flow statement
FIRM Firm hold Broker forecast
Fixed asset An asset which is used by a company on a long term or continuing basis as opposed to assets which are used up in a short period of time or sold on to customers. General
Fixed investments A long-term investment where the investment is an asset that is not used directly by the company's operations. Balance Sheet
Forecast elements excluded from the consensus The appearance of any suffix against a given forecast denotes exclusion from the consensus. The following suffix codes explain why the forecast is excluded:
B - Warning, i.e. the company's recent announcement of a 'profit warning' has overtaken the forecast, and a revised forecast is awaited.
S - Structural change in the company, such as a merger or de-consolidation, renders the forecast obsolete.
A - Age - the forecast is old and is overtaken by events, for example it is out of line with a subsequent interim announcement.
R - Results actually achieved have overtaken the forecast. This most often appears when preliminary results are announced after the date of the forecast, and the actual result for the period is materially different from what is expected. When this difference is more than 5%, the forecast is excluded from the consensus. If the EPS forecast is within 5% of the actual result, but the dividend forecast is not, then the dividend forecast alone is excluded.
D - Different basis.
B- Broker is disqualified temporarily from issuing a new forecast by reason of currently acting for the company in a transaction, e.g. a rights issue, or an acquisition. 		Broker forecast
FRS3 EPS Earnings per share is the relationship of the profit after tax attributable to each share in issue. FRS3 EPS is the unadjusted or 'as reported' EPS which all companies are required to publish by financial reporting standards

FRS3 EPS (p)= FRS3 earnings/weighted average shares in issue

Where

FRS3 earnings = profits after tax1 - minority interest1 - preference dividends1

1 - as reported (unadjusted) 		Profit and loss
FTSE 100 The FTSE 100 is the index of the London stock exchange's 100 largest companies by market capitalisation. General
FULL Fully valued Broker forecast
Fund Manager A professional investor who manages funds on behalf of an insurance company, pension fund, investment or unit trust. General

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G
Term Definition Area used
GBUY Gentle buy Broker forecast
Gearing A ratio used to describe the use of debt as well as equity to fund a company.

Gearing (%) = 100 * (Net borrowings (Total borrowings less cash and near cash assets) / shareholders funds) 		Company summary
Growth stocks A stock with a low price to earning ratio but high EPS growth. Profit and loss

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H
Term Definition Area used
H/B Hold / buy Broker forecast
H/S Hold / sell Broker forecast
HADD Hold / Add Broker forecast
HFB Hold for recovery Broker forecast
HIGH High enough. Broker forecast
High The share's intra-day high. Share Prices
HINC Hold for income Broker forecast
HLTB Hold / long term buy Broker forecast
HOLD Hold Broker forecast
HRED Hold / reduce Broker forecast
HSB Hold / speculative buy Broker forecast
HSPC Highly speculative Broker forecast
HSW Hold / switch Broker forecast
HTP Hold / Take Profits Broker forecast

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I
Term Definition Area used
In the Money Situation in which an option's strike price is below the current market price of the underlier (for a call option) or above the current market price of the underlier (for a put option). General
Income stocks A generic term for the stocks of major companies with sound earnings and dividend records and above-average share performance Stock selector
Increase/decrease in cash in the year Change in the cash position over the accounting year

Increase in cash in the year = Cash from operating activities + investment returns and financing + taxation + capital expenditure and other + financing 		Cash flow statement
Index An index (e.g. FTSE 100, FTSE 250) measures the weighted price of a basket of stocks and represents the changes using a single figure. It is often used as an indicator of performance. General
Initial Public Offering The first time a company sells stock to the public. An Initial Public Offering is a type of a primary offering, which occurs whenever a company sells new stock, and differs from a secondary offering, which is the public sale of previously issued securities, usually held by insiders. Company Summary
INL In Line Broker Forecast
Institutional Investor Entity with large amounts to invest, such as Investment and Unit Trusts, Insurance companies, Pension Funds, Investment Banks and Endowment Funds. Institutional investors are covered by fewer protective regulations because it is assumed that they are more knowledgeable and better able to protect themselves. They account for a majority of overall volume traded and the value of shares held. Also see Fund Manager. General
Intangibles An asset that has no physical presence (e.g. brand names, patents) Balance Sheet
Interest cover Interest cover, expresses how many times a company's interest obligations could be met out of gross profits.

Interest cover = Gross profit/interest obligation 		Stock selector
Interim The results covering part of the company's financial year, usually the first six months, and the dividend paid to shareholders out of the profits, or earnings, of that period. General
Investment income Income from assets not directly related to a company's business Profit and loss
Investment Manager See Fund Manager General
Investment returns and financing Investment returns and financing = Net interest + investment receipts + ordinary dividends paid + preferences + minorities Cash flow statement
Investor Relations A department within a public company that distributes information about the company and its financial performance to existing and potential shareholders. General
IPO See Initial Public Offering General
IR See Investor Relations General

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K
Term Definition Area used
KEYB Key buy Broker forecast

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L
Term Definition Area used
Last close The market price for the share at the end of the last day of trading Prices
Lock-in period The time period after an IPO when the lead underwriter restricts insiders at the newly public company from selling their shares. Usually lasts 180 days. General
Logarithmic y-axis The use of a log scale offers several statistical and interpretational advantages over a linear scale. It is principally employed because it measures vertical movement on a proportional basis; this ensures that a given percentage movement is always represented by the same distance on the vertical scale. If, for example, a share price doubles from 40p to 80p, the vertical movement is exactly the same if it doubles again to 160p. Graphing
Low The share's intra-day low. Share Prices
LTB Long term buy Broker forecast
LTH Long term hold Broker forecast
LTS Long term sell Broker forecast

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M
Term Definition Area used
Management of liquid resources Movements in all current asset investments and cash. Cash flow statement
Margin Operating margin shows trading profit as a percentage of sales, or total trading revenues.

Operating margin (%) = 100 * trading profit / total sales 		Profit and loss
Market Cap at B/S Date The total Stock Market value of the company's shares (the total number of shares issued to shareholders multiplied by the share price) at the time of the balance sheet year-end. Balance Sheet
Market Capitalisation The total Stock Market value of the company's shares, being the total number of shares issued to shareholders multiplied by the current share price. Company summary
Market Maker The Stock Exchange firms that a stockbroker deals with in completing a transaction. The market middleman from whom you buy, or to whom you sell, the shares in the company. General
Market Price The price at which the share can currently be traded in the market. General
Market Value See Market Capital. General
Merger The arrangement by which two companies unite without one attaining direct control over the other. General
Mid Price The normal price quoted in the press for the company's shares, being the mid point in the Bid and Offer spread. Prices
Minorities When a company owns a minority shareholding in another company the accounts will show the proportion of net assets and profits which are attributable to the company rather than to the shareholders of the company with the majority shareholding. Balance Sheet
Minority interests That part of net income or equity which is not attributable to the company but to others outside the company who hold shares in affiliated enterprises. Profit & loss
Mkt Cap The total value of the company's shares, updated continuously. Share Prices
Momentum stocks A stock that is out performing the rest of the market measured by relative strength. Stock selector
MPER Market perform Broker forecast
MRB Medium risk buy Broker forecast
MTB Medium term buy Broker forecast

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N
Term Definition Area used
NEG Negative Broker forecast
Net acquisitions and disposals The net impact on cash of the company's acquisition & disposal strategy. Cash flow statement
Net interest Net of interest paid and interest received Profit and loss
Net loans The net impact on cash of the company's financing strategy via short and long term loans. Cash flow statement
Net Tangible asset value per share NTAV per share (p) = (equity interest in shareholders' funds - intangibles)/ No. shares in issue at year end Balance Sheet
NEUT Neutral Broker forecast
New Issue Same as an IPO or placing. General
No. shares in issue Current number of ordinary share in issue Company summary
Nominee A person, or company, in whose name the shares are held, but who holds them on behalf of the actual shareholder. A means of preserving anonymity of the actual shareholder and for institutional investors to centralise the administration or individual holdings or their private clients. General
Non UK turnover Turnover from non-UK business interests Profit and loss
Non-equity dividends Dividends paid to preference shareholders Profit and loss
Non-executive directors Independent directors not involved with the day-to-day running of a company who sit on the board in an advisory capacity. Directors
Norm EPS growth How much the EPS has grown when measured against the previous period.

EPS growth (%) = 100 * (This years EPS - Previous EPS) / Previous EPS 		Profit and loss
Normalised EPS Earnings per share is the relationship of the profit after tax attributable to each share in issue. Normalised EPS is calculated as follows:

Normalised EPS = normalised earnings / weighted shares in issue

Where

Normalised earnings = IIMR headline earnings + exceptional charges1 - exceptional income1

and

IIMR headline earnings = FRS3 earnings2 + non-trading losses1 - non-trading profits1

1 - Net of tax and minority interest adjustments
2 - See entry for normalised EPS Diluted EPS also includes stock options, warrants, and convertible securities to get per-share earnings. 		Profit and loss
Notes Any additional information. Company summary
Notional Dilutional In some cases, the future conversion of other classes of share capital or debt will cause a potential dilution of earnings per ordinary share, or of net tangible asset value per share. When this produces a measurable difference, Hemscott shows historic earnings per share (EPS) and NTAVPS on a fully-diluted basis. Any statistic or calculation that incorporates, or invites comparison with, historic EPS or NTAV ps also presented on a fully-diluted basis. Those statistics affected include:

Historic and forecast EPS
Historic cash flow per share
Prospective price-earnings ratio (PER)
Price-earnings growth factor (PEG)
Historic and forecast EPS growth
Historic net tangible asset value per share (NTAVps)

Calculations based on full notional dilution assume that any future share issues, which could take place upon conversion of other classes of debt or share capital, have already occurred. This can involve adjusting earnings and assets as well as increasing the actual number of shares. Adjustments to earnings can reflect, for example, a lower dividend or interest pay out, as with convertible fixed dividend securities or debt, or a notional increase in earnings capacity through a larger capital base, as with options or warrants to subscribe for ordinary shares. 		Broker forecast
NPV Nil Par Value, being a class of share that does not have a designated face value. See also Par Value. General

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O
Term Definition Area used
Offer Price The price in the market that a prospective seller is prepared to accept to sell the shares. The higher of the prices in the Bid to Offer spread. The price paid when you buy the shares and the existing shareholder accepts the OFFER to buy them. General
OHLC bar chart Open High Low Close bar chart. This kind of chart captures the opening price, the day high, the day low and the closing price. The colour of the line represents whether the share finished up or down on the day (blue up, red down). The top of the chart indicates the day high, the bottom of the line the day low. The Right hand node on the line indicates the day close and the left hand node the day open. Graphing
ONEG Overweight negative Broker forecast
ONEU Overweight neutral Broker forecast
Operating profit (adjusted) Operating profit (reported) minus exceptional items  Profit and loss
Operating profit (reported) Profit before taking into account interest and corporation tax.  Profit and loss
OPOS Overweight positive Broker forecast
OPRI Overpriced Broker forecast
Option The right, but not the obligation, to buy (for a call option) or sell (for a put option) a specific amount of a given stock, commodity, currency, index, or debt, at a specified price (the strike price) during a specified period of time. For stock options, the amount is usually 100 shares. Also called option contract. General
Order of listing The contributing forecasts are listed in date order, with the most recent forecast shown last. The table has room for a maximum of 16 brokers, and if this is insufficient the oldest forecasts are not shown. Broker forecast
Ordinary dividends Dividend paid to holders of ordinary shares Profit and loss
Ordinary Share The main class of share capital representing the owner's interest in the company. General
OSOL Oversold Broker forecast
OUTP Outperform Broker forecast
OVAL Overvalued Broker forecast
Oversubscribed Defines a deal in which investors apply for more shares than are available. Usually a sign that an IPO will open at a substantial premium. General
OWGT Overweight Broker forecast

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P
Term Definition Area used
P/E The Price earning ratio (P/E ratio). This expresses the current share price (P) as a multiple of the earnings per share (E). The P/E ratio is used as a measure of how much the investor is being asked to pay for the investment. It is a means of assessing both the value of the company and also its comparative value and attraction compared to other companies.

The calculation for P/E ratio is as follows

P/E ratio = latest share price/EPS

In the case of a prospective PER, the EPS used is based on estimated future results, in which case forecasts for the next two reported periods are apportioned to give a rolling 12 months-ahead view. 		Share Prices
Par Value The original face value of the company's shares. It has no relevance to either the current share price market value or the asset value. General
Payment Date Payment Date is the date when the dividend is payable to shareholders on the register at the Record Date. Key Dates
PEP Personal equity plan Director dealings
PER See P/E Share Prices
Placing A means of raising new capital by entering into an arrangement with major investors who agree to acquire a specified number of new shares. General
Portfolio Manager See Fund Manager General
PPER Peer perform Broker forecast
Prelims The Preliminary Announcement, being the initial report to the Stock Exchange of the company's financial results for the year. General
Premium The difference between the offering price and opening or current price during a new issue of shares through an IPO or rights issue. General
Pre-tax profit Profit after all expenses including interest but before corporation tax Profit and loss
Price earning growth The Price earning growth (PEG) factor measures the relative cost of earning growth at the current share price.

PEG = P/E ratio/EPS growth

PEG factors are only calculated for companies fulfilling the following criteria

- there must be broker forecasts available
- there must be continuous growth in normalised EPS for the last four consecutive periods, including any forecast
- Companies in building and construction, building materials and merchants and vehicle distributors which are all highly cyclical sectors may not have incurred a loss or suffered an EPS reversal in any of the last 5 years of reported results
- each of the last 5 normalised results must be positive i.e. none may show a loss
- Where 4 periods of growth follow a pervious set back, it must have achieved, or be expected to achieve, its highest normalised EPS (whether historic or forecast) in the latest period out of the six. 		Stock selector
Price earnings ratio See P/E Share Prices
Price to book value Price to Book value (p)= Latest share price / book value per share

where

book value per share = book value (ordinary capital +equity reserves) / no. shares in issue at year end 		Stock selector
Primary country Listing The country in which a company has its main stock exchange listing Company summary
Private Company A company whose shares are not traded on the open market. Opposite of public company. General
Private Investor An individual who purchases securities for him/herself, as opposed to an institutional investor. Also called individual, small or retail investor. General
Profit after tax Profit after taking into account of all expenses including interest and corporation tax, but before taking into account any dividends payable. Profit and loss
Profit and loss The profit and loss account summarises the result of last year's trading in figures. It is a summary of the expenditure and income of a company over the financial year. Profit and loss
Prospectus The document, issued at the time of the initial issue of shares to the public, which explains all aspects of a company's business, including financial results, growth strategy, and risk factors. General
PSS Profit sharing scheme Director dealings
Public Company A company that has shares that investors are able to acquire in the open market. General

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R
Term Definition Area used
R/S Reduce / Sell Broker forecast
Recommendations (REC) This is the current recommendation, which the broker published with the latest forecast. This can be a straightforward 'buy', 'sell' or 'hold', for example. More often, it lies somewhere between or even beyond these three terms, for example 'weak hold', or 'overweight', and each broker has a range of perhaps eight to twelve such gradations. A '+' or '-' sign accompanying a recommendation denotes, respectively, an upgrade or downgrade when compared with the previously published recommendation.

It should be understood that a single recommendation from a given broker must be viewed in its full context, namely the entire text of the research it is based on, the share price at the time of writing, and the full range of recommendations employed by that broker. 		Broker forecast
Record Date Record Date is the date on which a shareholder must officially own shares in order to be entitled to the dividend. Key Dates
RED Reduce Broker forecast
Registrar Registrars are commercial companies that maintain the register of shareholders for quoted companies. Registrars may also be paid by their client companies to send out company communications with shareholders and process responses. Advisers
Relative Strength Relative strength is a measure of how a company's share price has performed relative to the FTSE All-Share Index. Relative strength is calculated as follows:

Price change = Current share price/initial share price

Index change = Current index value/initial index value

Relative strength = 100*(Price change - index change)/Index change 		Stock selector
Remuneration The remuneration committee consists of non-executive directors and decides the pay of the executive directors and approves the pay of other employees on the recommendation of the executive directors. Committees
Reserves Profits accumulated by the business and not distributed by dividends Balance Sheet
Retail Investor See Private Investor General
Retained profits The profits of a company which have been retained i.e. not distributed to shareholders as dividends Profit and loss
Reverse Acquisition A technique used by a private company to go public without jumping through all the regulatory hoops that going public usually requires. The private company acquires majority ownership in a publicly listed company that has no assets or liabilities (called a shell), changes the company's name, and installs its management and board of directors. General
Reverse Take-over See Reverse Acquisition General
Rights issue A means of raising new capital whereby existing shareholders agree to buy new shares at an agreed price, which will normally be at a discount to the current market price. General
ROCE Return on capital employed measures the return achieved on invested and borrowed capital (the capital employed).

ROCE (%) = 100 * return (annualised)/capital employed

Where

return (annualised) = pre-tax profit + interest paid

(In the event of the financial period being greater or less than 12 months in duration, the return is adjusted to an annualised basis)

and

Capital employed = ordinary capital reserves + preference capital + minority interests + provisions + total borrowings - intangibles 		Balance Sheet
ROE Return on Equity (ROE) is a measure of the profitability of a company expressed as the return achieved on invested equity capital (shareholders funds attributable to equity interests i.e. ordinary capital reserves + provisions).

ROE (%) = 100 * return (i.e. normalised earnings)/ invested equity capital

Where

normalised earnings = FRS3 profit after tax1 - minority interest1 - preference dividends1 + non-trading losses2 - non trading profits2 + exceptional charges2 - exceptional income2

Invested equity capital = ordinary capital + reserves + provisions

1 - as reported (unadjusted)
2 - net of tax and minority interest adjustments 		Balance Sheet

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S
Term Definition Area used
SAYE Save as you earn Director dealings
SBUY Strong buy Broker forecast
Scrip Issue See Bonus Issue General
Sector The FTSE AIC sector of the stock e.g. telecommunications services. Company summary
Securities The term used for any financial instrument issued by the company and traded on the Stock Exchange. General
SELL Sell Broker forecast
Share capital The nominal value of shares paid into the company by shareholders at the time(s) shares were issued, carried on the balance sheet. Balance Sheet
Share capital changes When a significant share capital change occurs and gives rise to a share price adjustment, a mathematical correction is applied to any existing per share values, such as EPS, in order to maintain comparability with any values added subsequently. A factor, or fraction, is applied retrospectively to any existing values when one of the following events occurs:

Rights issues or open offers
Scrip or capitalisation issue
Share consolidation or subdivision

The key test as to whether a factor should apply in the event of a share capital change, is simply whether the share price changes as a direct result of the event when it takes effect in the market and the shares are first traded 'ex - event'. When two or more events occur together, e.g. a subdivision of 25p shares into 5p followed immediately by a rights issue, then the individual factors calculated for each component are multiplied together. 		Broker forecast
Share Certificate The document that records the shareholders stake in the company. An indication of ownership to be returned on the sale of the holding. General
Share Option See Option General
Share Price The share mid price, half way between the bid and ask price. Share Prices
Share Representing one unit of ownership in a company. General
Shareholder A person, institution or company who owns shares in a company or mutual fund. For company shareholders along with the ownership come a right to dividends and the right to vote on certain company matters, including the board of directors. Also called stockholder. General
Shareholders funds A measure of the shareholders' total interest in the company represented by the total share capital plus reserves Balance Sheet
Shares in Issue Current number of ordinary share in issue Share Prices
Shell A company with no real assets or operations. General
SHOL Strong hold Broker forecast
Simple moving averages A simple moving average is used to spot a possible underlying trend in the stock price. Moving averages are calculated by adding values over a set number of periods and then dividing the sum by the total number of values.

Simple moving averages smooth the data by removing "noise" over the selected period. The ability to smooth data makes this a useful tool in identifying price trends and trend reversals. 		Graphing
SIS Staff incentive scheme Director dealings
Size The size of the last trading transaction. Share Prices
Size The size of the last trading transaction. Share Prices
Slow Stockastics Slow Stochastics are based on Fast Stochastics but provide a slower, smoother response to price movements. The %K line in Slow Stochastics is the same as the %D line in Fast Stochastics. The %D line in Slow Stochastics is a Simple Moving Average of %K Slow Stochastics. Graphing
SOF Source of funds Broker forecast
Solicitor The firm of lawyers that represents the company on legal matters Advisers
SOST Sell on strength Broker forecast
SOUT Sector outperformer Broker forecast
SPB Speculative buy Broker forecast
SPEC Speculative Broker forecast
SPER Sector performer Broker forecast
SPH Speculative hold Broker forecast
Spouse Transaction on behalf of spouse Director dealings
Spread The difference between the Bid and Offer prices. General
SPS Share participation scheme Director dealings
SSEL Strong sell Broker forecast
SSS Share save scheme Director dealings
Standard Deviation Standard deviation is a statistical measure of variance from the mean value, and is known as the 'root mean square deviation'. The standard deviation measures the degree to which individual numbers tend to spread about their mean, or average, value. In statistical analysis, it is accepted that for a given sample of measurements, two-thirds of the sample normally fall within one standard deviation of the mean. For example, if there are 18 estimates, it can be assumed that 12 of them lie within plus or minus one standard deviation of the average. Broker forecast
Status The listing status of the stock i.e. whether is it listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) or fully listed Company summary
STB Short term buy Broker forecast
Stock Exchange A Market on which shares or other securities are bought and sold. Examples include the London Stock Exchange (or LSE) and AIM. General
Stock An instrument that signifies an ownership position, or equity, in a corporation, and represents a claim on its proportionate share in the company's assets and profits. Also called equities or equity securities or corporate stock. See also share. General
Stockholder Taking the traditional definition, stockholders are lenders and are accounted among the company's creditors. Interest on stocks must be paid ahead of any dividend to shareholders. Share or equity capital is money permanently supplied in exchange for a stake in the ownership of the business. See also shareholder. General
Stocks Raw materials, work in progress or good ready for sale. Balance Sheet
STS Short term sell Broker forecast
STTP Short term take profits Broker forecast
SUND Sector underperformer Broker forecast
SWIT Switch Broker forecast

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T
Term Definition Area used
Take-over When one company approaches another company, making an offer to the latter's shareholders, seeking to acquire their shares in sufficient quantities to take control. If the company that is being taken over is listed on the Stock Exchange, a strict protocol of rules and regulations exist to protect the interests of shareholders. A time limit is set for acceptance of the offer. If the company making the offer gets control of 90% or more of the shares, it has a legal right to acquire the remaining 10% of the shares at the offer price. A take-over bid may be friendly, recommended by the board of the company being taken over, or it may be hostile, rejected by the board with the company making the offer going direct to shareholders. General
Tangible fixed assets A fixed asset that has a physical presence e.g. a building Balance Sheet
Tax (profit and loss sheet) Corporation tax amount payable to the government Profit and loss
Taxation (cash flow statement) Payment of tax made during the financial year Cash flow statement
Tick RSI The Relative Strength Index (RSI) compares upward movements in closing price to downward movements over a selected period (14 days for 14 Tick RSI and 21 days for 21 Tick RSI) and calculates which trend is dominating. Values range between 0 and 100.

RSI = 100 - (100/ (1+ (sum -ve change/sum +ve changes))

It is used to indicate when the market is overbought (an RSI of approximately 70) or oversold (and RSI of approximately 30) 		Graphing
Time The time of the last trading transaction. Share Prices
Time The time of the last trading transaction. Share Prices
TOPS Top slice Broker forecast
TOPY Toppy / Top Heavy Broker forecast
Total assets Total net fixed assets plus total current assets Balance Sheet
Total current assets Assets that are expected to be converted into cash within twelve months of the balance sheet date Balance Sheet
Total employee cost Wage salary, social security and pensions not including director remuneration Company summary
Total liabilities Total value of goods or services owed by a company Balance Sheet
Total net assets The total assets of a company less its liabilities Balance Sheet
Total net fixed assets Tangible fixed assets plus fixed investments Balance Sheet
TPR Take profits Broker forecast
Trade price The transaction price of the last trade. Share Prices
Trade price The transaction price of the last trade. Share Prices
TRB Trading buy Broker forecast
TRIM Trim Broker forecast
TRS Trading sell Broker forecast
TUCK Tuck away Broker forecast
TUPR Take up rights Broker forecast
Turnover The amount of income derived from a company's provision of mainstream goods and services Profit and loss
Type The likely type of the last trading transaction, decided by whether the trade price is closer to the displayed bid or ask price. If the trade price is exactly between the two, a "?" is displayed as the type of trade cannot be determined. Share Prices

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U
Term Definition Area used
UATR Unattractive Broker forecast
UNB Unbundle Broker forecast
UNDP Underperform Broker forecast
UNEG Underweight negative Broker forecast
UNEU Underweight neutral Broker forecast
UPOS Underweight positive Broker forecast
UREV Under review Broker forecast
UVAL Undervalued Broker forecast

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V
Term Definition Area used
Value stocks An undervalued stock as indicated by low price earning ratio (P/E ratio), high dividend yield and a low price to book ratio General
Vesting Period The period of time before shares are owned unconditionally by an employee in an employee stock option plan. If his/her employment terminates before this period ends, the company can buy back the shares at their original price. General
VRSK Very risky Broker forecast

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W
Term Definition Area used
Warrants Securities giving the holder a right to subscribe to a share or a bond at a given price and from a certain date General
WBUY Weak buy Broker forecast
WHOL Weak hold Broker forecast
WSEL Weak sell Broker forecast

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Y
Term Definition Area used
Year end End of the company's accounting year General
YSUP Yield support Broker forecast

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