Hello, I am a 17 yr old male that has had shares in home depot for about 12 years now(my grandfather bought them for me). I am not sure how many he bought, but know that now they are going for around 40$ a share. How can I see how many shares I have? Do I have to wait for the statement to come in, or is there another way. Also, how will I know when the right time to sell them is? What is considered a high price in shares. My parents tell me to just hang on to it, is this true. Thanks for any help!
2007-07-12 15:15:46 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Business & Finance ➔ Investing
To see what the shares are worth, you can go to this link from yahoo finance. You can go back in time and see how many times Home Depot has split and when, etc.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/hp?s=HD
*The adjusted price is the stock price adjusted for splits. So if a stock was at 100, and split 2 for 1 to 50, the adjusted price would show you the price as if the stock had always been at 50 so you can determine the real change in value of that stock over time.
As for how many shares you now have, it´s tough to tell without the brokerage statement or the actual share certificates.
If you have the share certificates, you can just scroll through the history to see how many splits have occured since the shares were issued.
As for whether to sell or not, unless you have a better use for the stock, it might not be a bad thing to hold it a little longer. At 41, if it breaks resistance here, it should continue to go up a bit more.
Anyways, HD´s a pretty decent stock. Compared to many "blue chip" stocks, it's performing much better than many.
Learn about investing. Read something like "how to make money in stocks in good times and bad" by William O'Neill. And then decide if this is a stock you want to continue to own, or if you have a better place to invest it.
Hope that helps!
2007-07-16 10:44:42 · answer #1 · answered by Yada Yada Yada 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
To answer...How will I know when the right time to sell?
I use technical analysis to determine when to buy and sell.
You should read some books on the subject.
HD is in an uptrend right now. If it breaks through the $42.00 resistance level and continues higher it will most likely retest the $44 resistance level. If it turns around and falls lower from either of these levels on high volume, sell it quickly.
After learning/studying trading stocks with technical analysis, try some paper trading for a while to check your performance. Re-invest the funds in other stocks using 'when to buy evaluations'. You could create yourself a nice nest egg. Wish I had your opportunity when I was 17. I currently own HD too and am watching it closely. I use the yahoo group ComputerProgramPicks. When buying and selling stocks, you do not have to be right all the time, you only need to make more than you loose. Best of luck to you. Having luck is executing with a prepared mind.
2007-07-12 15:46:01 · answer #2 · answered by trader 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There is no arbitrary price at which it is a good idea to buy or sell a stock. Instead you need to attempt to determine if HD will continue to grow in the future enough to justify its current earnings multiple (ie the amount you pay for $1 of the company's earnings, commonly called a PE ratio).
In general with good, well run companies buying and holding a stock for the long term is a good investment strategy.
2007-07-12 21:51:43 · answer #3 · answered by Adam J 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Contact brokers & learn from them
2007-07-12 15:18:02 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋