Adding Splits to Your Chart

Once you have defined the time range for your chart, you can add SPLITS and DIVIDENDS information to your chart so you can see what corporate actions have affected the price of the stock in the past.

SPLITS occur when a company decides to divide, or split, the number of outstanding shares of stock into a larger number of outstanding shares. The result of a stock split is a lower stock price per share and more shares in the market. Conversely, reverse SPLITS occur when a company decides to combine, or consolidate, the number of outstanding shares of stock into a smaller number of outstanding shares. The result of a reverse stock split is a higher stock price per share and fewer shares in the market.

To add SPLITS to your chart, click on the SPLITS button in the lower left corner of the chart. Once you do so, if the stock has ever been split, you will see a red circle with an “S” in it appear above each date on which a split occurred.

If you place your cursor above the circle, a window will appear telling you the SPLIT DATE and the SPLIT RATIO. The SPLIT DATE is the date on which the split took effect. Companies actually announce their stock splits weeks in advance of the date the split will actually take place. The date listed here is the actual split date. The SPLIT RATIO is the ratio between the number of shares that existed after the split compared to the number of shares that existed before the stock split. For instance, if a company is executing a “2 for 1” stock split, it is splitting each share of stock into two shares of stock. This will double the number of shares outstanding and cut the value of each existing share in half.

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Next tutorial: Adding Dividends to Your Chart

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