When using the Portfolio Analyzer to review investment data, it is important to understand the information presented in the output table. Here’s a guide to reading the table, which is organized from left to right with the following columns:

  1. Stock Symbol: The unique series of letters assigned to each publicly traded company.
  2. Company Name: The full name of the company associated with the stock symbol.
  3. Shares: The number of shares of this stock held in your portfolio. Users can change this number at any time by clicking inside the input field.
  4. Stock Price: The price of the stock as of the close of the previous trading day.
  5. Value: The total value of all shares of this stock held in the portfolio. This is calculated as Shares times Price.
  6. % of Portfolio: The percentage of the overall porfolio represented by the user’s share position. If all Shares are set to “0”, the portfolio will assume all positions are held in equal weights.
  7. Market Cap: The total value of a company’s outstanding shares, calculated as share price multiplied by the number of shares.
  8. Beta: A measure of a stock’s volatility relative to the overall market, often represented by a benchmark index like the S&P 500. A beta of 1 indicates that the stock moves in line with the market, while a beta greater than 1 suggests higher volatility and risk, and a beta less than 1 indicates lower volatility. Investors use beta to assess a stock’s risk level in comparison to the broader market and to help inform portfolio diversification and risk management strategies.
  9. P/S: The stock’s Price to Sales ratio.

The next column, Probability Guidance, compares the effectiveness of 4 of ERS’s proprietary ratings and metrics to identify which is most effective at determining the optimal times to buy a stock.
The Guidance assigns a rating to the selected stock based on the most effective rating or metric.
Ratings range from A+ to F: A+, A or B suggests a high potential for gains, while E or F indicates a high potential for losses.
A rating of C signifies that the company’s current conditions do not strongly suggest either high potential for gains or high risk of losses.

The next four columns present the metrics and proprietary stock risk ratings used by the Portfolio Analyzer to calculate the Probability Guidance in column 10. ERS’s proprietary stock risk ratings are a crucial part of the analysis, offering an advanced gauge of potential risk associated with each stock. Each rating ranges from 0 to 100, where a rating of 0 indicates very low risk and a rating of 100 indicates very high risk.

  1. Price Risk Indicator™ (PRI™): A measure and rating of the statistical probability and magnitude of a stock’s future price changes.
  2. Equity Risk Indicator™ (ERI™): A ratings of both the financial condition and valuation of a stock.
  3. Fiduciary Risk Rating™ (FRR™): A robust and trustworthy statistical rating system that alerts fiduciaries to the substantial risks of loss in a company’s stock, regardless of its market popularity.
  4. Valuation Metric 1 (V1): A metric which assesses a company’s current Price-to-Sales (P/S) ratio by comparing it to its historical 1-year and 5-year P/S ranges. This metric helps identify whether the company’s valuation is near historic highs, lows, or averages, providing insight into its relative attractiveness for investment.

The last column, FRN, stands for Fiduciary Risk Navigator. This is ERS’s gold standard risk rating, designed specifically to help fiduciaries meet their duty of care. This proprietary rating combines a rigorous analysis of a company’s financial condition with a Net Present Value assessment to determine whether the stock is fundamentally sound or dangerously overpriced. The result is a clear, easy-to-understand letter grade from A+ to F, guiding fiduciaries in selecting investments that align with their legal and ethical responsibilities.