What factors makes a stock, a good buy?

Answer 1

None. Investing is a probability game; whatever factors make stocks good buys as a group may not play out in the one stock you are looking at.

Answer 2

Financial websites like Yahoo! Finance, Reuters, Money.cnn.com have the ability to do stock quotes. When you get your quote, look for the Financial Statement tabs. Obviously, looking through financial statements requires some degree of analytical ability. Things to look for are P/E ratios in relation to the sector and industry. Review the net income and margin and how it has grown over the last few years (or quarters).

Reuters also has links to analyst ratings that will tell you which side they would be on with that particular stock. These are the individuals who have already performed the above analytics. If they rate it a buy, that means the company looks strong in the categories mentioned. The other ratings are hold and sell. If it's a hold, I would sit tight until additional news about the company is released.

Answer 3

Factor one will be whether you have enough money to diversify your portfolio with stocks. You need about 30 stocks in a portfolio to consider it diversified. If you do not, than you should be doing ETF or Mutual Fund investing. If you do have enough money, then you should consult a professional because it is impossible to keep up with the activities of these companies that you are investing in unless you do this day in and day out.

Answer 4

Many people will give you lots of answers, and tons of books have been written on this subject.. but there really is just one factor:

A stock that many others will think is worth buying (and then buy) AFTER you bought yours.

So, the criteria for sucess is.. what will other people value, but don't see now, that will cause them to run the price up.

Answer 5

good company history. Do your research and ask questions.