A beta greater than 1.00 will move much more than the market when it goes up and down. Investors who want to assume the least amount of risk should choose stocks with betas below 1.00. Dividend yield is another measure of how well a stock could perform in the future. Value investors usually look at a stock's dividend yield which is the annual dividend as a percentage of the stock price. Dividend yield varies greatly with by industry because of industry growth, competition, and market forces.
Companies sometimes cut dividends.
But investors can look at cash flow which shows if more money is coming into a company than leaving. Cash Flow is generally measured by adding earnings plus all noncash charges such as depreciation. Investors can also measure a firms payout ratio which shows how much of a compay's profits are going to shareholders. Please look for our coninuing series on Performing Stock Research .