Glossary

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A

Announcement: An announcement is information provided by the issuer of a security to the Stock Exchange. An announcement can take any form and be on any subject. An example of an announcement is a profit report.
Ask: The lowest price at which someone is willing to sell their shares, also known as the offer price.
ASX: Australian Stock Exchange.
At Limit: At the best price available subject to such limit.
At Market: At the best available price with no limit subject to the brokers discretion or the terms of execution.
AUD: A currency abbreviation for Australian Dollar.

B

Bear Market: A falling Market.
Bid: Also known as the Buy Quote, the highest price any buyer in the market is willing to pay for the security.
Bonus Issue: The issue of shares to existing shareholders on a pro rata or equal basis i.e. a ratio such as 1:5 being one new share for every five held. No payment is required for these shares.
Brokerage: Charges made by a broker acting as an agent in the buying and selling of shares, usually based on the value of the transaction.
Bull Market: A rising Market.
Buy Quote: Also known as the Bid, the highest price any buyer in the market is willing to pay for the security.

C

Capital Adjustment: This is an adjusted share price to reflect actual changes in shareholder value. For example in the case of dividends it represents the capital movement had the dividends been reinvested instead of distributed by adjusting cum dividend prices down to a price comparable to the ex dividend price.
Capital Index: Capital indices reflect increases or decreases of the market value based on the price of shares.
Capital Notes: Also know as Corporate Bonds, a fixed cashflow security issued by a company. The holder receives coupon payments quoted as a percentage of the Face value, usually paid in semi annual instalments. Usually in terms of trading it is quoted by expressing the coupon yield as a percentage of the trade price.
Change Price: The difference between the last trade today and yesterdays close. It is calculated by subtracting the last, on market, trade price from the OAP.
Contract Note: Document sent by a broker to their client confirming a purchase or sale showing details of price, brokerage and any other charges involved.
Contributing Shares: Also known as Partly Paid or Contributing Shares, is a security with an attached obligation to pay a fixed price for a fully paid ordinary share at a specified date in the future. It may or may not have entitlements such as dividends attached to it
Convertible note: A loan made to a company with a fixed rate of interest where the holder has the right at maturity to take either a known cash amount or a known quantity of shares.
Corporate Bonds: Also known as Corporate Bonds, a fixed cashflow security issued by a company. The holder receives coupon payments quoted as a percentage of the Face value, usually paid in semi annual instalments. Usually in terms of trading it is quoted by expressing the coupon yield as a percentage of the trade price.
Cum: Has attached the applicable entitlement e.g. cum dividend. Quoted Cum from the time of the announcement until the record date. See also Ex (Antonym).

D

Deferred Delivery: Basis on which securities may be traded where the seller does not hold the shares at the time of sale, sometimes applicable in the case of a new issue of securities resulting in the buyer not receiving the shares immediately and the seller not receiving payment immediately.
Delayed: When (delayed) is displayed along side the as at date and time, the information is delayed 20 minutes. The as at time is the time the information is current to (normally 20 minutes behind the current server time).
Dividend: Shareholders funds distributed to shareholders. Dividend per share is the total dividend to be paid divided by the number of shares on issue.
Dividend Imputation: New Zealand has a system of dividend Imputation. Where a company has paid tax on its profits, the dividends of that company will carry a tax credit (imputation credit), which entitles shareholders to a rebate or reduction in the net amount of tax to pay. When a company attaches imputation credits, the dividends are referred to as being imputed. Depending on the tax status of the company, dividends are either fully, partially or not imputed.
Dividend Yield: This figure tells you how much your shares would earn over a year, expressed as a percentage. Dividend yield is calculated by: total dividend per share divided by current market price of a share x 100 The dividend yield changes as the share price varies, meaning it rises as the price falls and vice versa. The dividend value used is usually historical, but may be forecast.

E

Earnings/Share: Earnings per share is derived by dividing the Full Year Profit by the number of shares on issue. The currency of the earnings per share is the same currency of the full year profit. This information is retrieved directly from the Stock Exchange.
EBIT: Earnings Before Interest and Tax
EBITA: Earnings Before Interest, Tax and Amortisation
EBITDA: Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation
Ex: Does not have attached the applicable entitlement e.g. Ex dividend. Quoted Ex from the next business day after the record date until the entitlement is due. See also Cum (Antonym).
Ex Date: The first day of a security being quoted Ex. The next business day following the record date.
Exchange: Market place where securities are quoted and traded. e.g. New Zealand Stock Exchange (NZX); Australian Stock Exchange (ASX).
Expiration: This is the maximum duration of the order.

F

FASTER: Fully Automated Screen Trading & Electronic Registration.
FIN: FASTER Identification Number - Used together with the Holder number to confirm Shareholder identification.
Full Year Profit: This is the sum of the two latest half year profit announcements. Full year profit only applies to equities. The currency for the profit value is included in ( ) following the profit figure. It is possible that this figure can be in a currency other than NZD. This information is retrieved directly from the Stock Exchange.
First: The first On Market trade of the day.
Float: The issue of new securities to investors.

G

Government stock: Similar to Corporate Bonds except that they are issued by the Government as a lower risk fixed cashflow security.
Gross Index: Gross indices are adjusted to account for dividends paid out by the companies in the index as well as changes in the share price. This gives a better measure of the total return on shares.

H

High: The highest On Market trade of the day.

I

Imputation credit: See dividend imputation.
Index: Numerical representation total of weighted component values for the purpose of measuring change as a broad movement over a range of securities.
Instalment Receipt: Also known as a contributing share, is a security with an attached obligation to pay a fixed price for a fully paid ordinary share at a specified date in the future. It may or may not have entitlements such as dividends attached to it.
Investment Statement: Document issued by the issuer of new securities stating the terms of the issue.
Issuer: A Company that has one or more securities listed on the Stock Exchange.
Issuer Code: Stock Exchange generated Issuing Company identification code.

J

K

L

Last Trade: The most recent on market trade in cents. When a time is displayed along side the last trade price, this is the time the security was last traded.
Limit: See Price Limit.
Low: The lowest On Market trade of the day in cents.

M

Market Date: This is the NZX market date that the information displayed is valid for.
Minimum Holding: Set as per appendix 2 to the NZX Listing rules governing the quotation of shares on the Stock Exchange. Specifies the minimum number of shares which can be registered to shareholder.

N

Non Renounceable: Securities issued which cannot be traded on a secondary market.
NTA: Net Tangible Asset backing. This figure indicates the wind up value of a company ie. if the company ceased trading, this is how much it would be worth on a per share basis. NTA is calculated as: total value of assets after liabilities and intangibles have been deducted divided by the number of shares on issue. The higher the NTA figure, the greater the value of the company.
NZX: New Zealand Stock Exchange.
NZD: An currency abbreviation for New Zealand Dollar.

O

OAP: Opening Adjusted Price/Yield. This shows the previous market day's close adjusted for any changes in capital. For example a share split or dividend.
Off Market: Any reported trade which has not occurred by meeting the leading bid or offer quoted on the Market.
Offer: The lowest price at which someone is willing to sell their shares, also known as the Ask price.
On Market: Any trade which occurs during normal market trade where the leading bid or offer is accepted.
Options: The right to buy (call option) or sell (put option) a security at a known fixed price (exercise price) up till a known fixed time (expiry date) in the future. Can be sold prior to exercising but become worthless after the expiry date.
Ordinary Shares: Represents an equal claim on net assets after all meeting all debt and preference share obligations. Includes voting rights.

P

PE: Price Earnings ratio. This ratio indicates the underlying value of a company. In its most simple form, the PE indicates how many years it will take for the earnings from the shares to equal to the share price. PE ratios are calculated as: Current share price divided by earnings per share (dividends) In general, a high PE ratio indicates that investors believe the company has sound growth opportunities, with relatively high quality earning and low risk, hence they are prepared to accept a lower return. However, PE ratios are only useful as a comparative tool eg. to compare the value of companies within the same industry sector, or to compare the value of a company with the overall value of a whole sector.
Partly Paid Shares: Also known as Instalment Receipts, is a security with an attached obligation to pay a fixed price for a fully paid ordinary share at a specified date in the future. It may or may not have entitlements such as dividends attached to it.
Preference Shares: Ranks above Ordinary Shares. Dividends are usually fixed and are rarely reduced or missed. Holders may not have any voting rights. Often valued as a fixed interest security.
Price Limit: When placing an order, this is the price you are not willing to pay more than if buying or receive less than if selling.
Prospectus: Document issued by the issuer of new securities stating the terms of the issue. More detailed than an Investment Statement.

Q

R

Record Date: Also known as the books closing date, this is the day on which all shareholders on the register on that day will receive the applicable entitlement e.g. dividend or rights issue.
Registry: Organisation which maintains relationships with and keeps records of shareholders on behalf of the company.
Rights Issue: Also known as a Cash Issue, a method companies use for raising extra capital. Options to buy more shares usually at a price below the current Market price are distributed to existing shareholders on a pro rata or equal basis e.g. the right to buy one new share for every five held. Usually if the shareholder does not wish to buy the extra shares they can sell the rights (unless Non Renounceable) to other investors.

S

Scrip: A holding in securities.
Security Code: Stock Exchange generated listed security identification code.
Sell Quote: The lowest price any seller in the market is willing to accept for the security.
Shareholder Number: Registry number which is unique to each holder on the register.
Stag: The buying of new securities at the time they are floated to sell immediately on issue.
Stamp Duty: Australian Government transaction tax of AUD 0.15 per AUD 100.00 or part AUD 100.00 traded.

T

Total Issue: The total number of shares on issue for the security.
Trade Fee: Fixed transaction charge.
Trades: The number of individual trades of a security. This includes on market and off market trades.
Trigger When Price: This is the price which will action your order once the last trade has either equalled this price, exceeded if buying or fallen past if selling.

U

Underwriter: Guarantor of the issue of new securities. Promises to buy any securities not taken up by other investors at the time of floating.
Unlisted Securities: Securities which do not meet the listing requirements of the NZX may be quoted and traded on the secondary board known as the Unlisted Securities Facility. The unlisted market is a secondary market operated by the New Zealand Stock Exchange on which small to medium sized companies are traded. The NZX does not guarantee any transactions that occur on the unlisted market nor place any capital requirements on the companies listed. Its only role is to provide a market where buyers and sellers can meet and trades can be reported.

V

Value Traded: This is the total dollar value of all trading in a security for the market day. It is calculated by multiplying the volume traded by the average sale price.
Volume Traded: The number of units traded for the market day.

W

Warrants: An option usually issued by an investment bank or body other than the underlying Company