- 1). Find the ticker symbol of the corporation you'd like to evaluate. Major financial sites, such as Yahoo! Finance or MSN Money provide search functions specifically to identify ticker symbols on the front page of the website. Type the name of the company and the site will give you the ticker symbol. This symbol will be between one and five letters long, and is used to identify the company in stock-related transactions.
- 2). Type the ticker symbol of the company into the "Quotes" box found at the top of the page of major financial websites. Some sites title this box "Real-Time Quotes," and others refer to it as "Get Quotes." Both, and other variants, perform the same function. When you press "Enter," you'll be taken to a page detailing information about the company.
- 3). Search for a statistic called yield or dividend. This number represents the amount of money expected from the company in a 12-month period. If represented as a percentage, this number is the percent of your investment the company has provided as a dividend. These numbers are based on historical information, and companies can change the dividend at any time. If this line is empty or reads zero, the company pays no consistent dividend to shareholders.
- 4). Find news about the company on this same page. On some sites, there is a separate page for news, while others list it at the bottom of the page. Specifically look for press releases from the company. This will inform you of any other payouts to shareholders, such as share buybacks and special one-time dividends, as well as the latest dividend payout information.
- 5). Locate the company profile on the page. You may find a phone number for investor relations and the company website address. Use this information to browse the company site, or call the company to inquire about other ways the company may pay investors. Some companies provide payout perks beyond cash. Coffee maker Starbucks offers coupons; Churchill Downs gives free admission passes; and Royal Caribbean cruise lines bestows discounts for shareholders.
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