Stock Tables, How to Read Them

Many newspapers publish in their business sections the stock tables of the various stock exchanges and markets, including the New York Stock Exchange and The Nasdaq Stock Market. These tables typically list most of the actively traded public companies in the U.S. and include summaries of how a company's stock performed the previous trading day. They also provide information about any dividend payments and the company's price to earnings (P/E) ratio.

For further information on how to read a stock table, you may wish to visit the website of the New York Stock Exchange.

http://www.sec.gov/answers/stocktables.htm