How to Calculate Stock Beta: Formula & Examples Explained

what is a beta coefficient

Smart investors understand that Beta is just one tool and know its limitations. Consequently, Beta is blockchain and fraud prevention just one of several market analysis tools you should use. Understanding that Beta only provides a small piece of the big stock picture will help you avoid becoming too dependent.

How Should You Use a Stock’s Beta in Your Investing

what is a beta coefficient

A beta value of more than 1.0 implies that the stock will be more volatile than the market, while a beta value of less than 1.0 predicts lower volatility. In a bull market, a beta above 1.0 will likely produce better returns but also come with more risk. Beta can be used to help diversify a portfolio and make better investment decisions. However, beta is only one measure of risk and should not be used in isolation since it only measures past performance. This stock has a beta of 1.5, which is 50% more volatile than the market. However, this also means it could earn 50% more than the market can return in a given period.

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Small-cap and technology stocks typically have higher betas than the market benchmark. Adding this type of stock to a portfolio will raise its risk, but it may also improve its expected return. Systematic risk is the underlying risk that affects the entire market. Large changes in macroeconomic variables, such as interest rates, inflation, GDP, or foreign exchange, are changes that impact the broader how to buy ethereum in the uk market and that cannot be avoided through diversification.

  1. These estimators attempt to uncover the instant prevailing market-beta.
  2. Usually, one of the stock prices used in covariance comes from a specific market index like the S&P 500.
  3. Investors keen to bag big capital gains or day traders looking to make a quick buck from fluctuating share prices would be more interested in high-beta stocks.
  4. The market has a beta coefficient of 1 and beta coefficients of different stocks are measured with reference to the market.

There is a lot of hope baked into its share price, resulting in wild swings whenever it fails/exceeds expectations and a five-year beta of 2.41, as of June 2024. These estimators attempt to uncover the instant prevailing market-beta. When long-term market-betas are required, further regression toward the mean over long horizons should be considered. Our team of reviewers are established professionals with decades of experience in areas of personal finance and hold many advanced degrees and certifications.

The Formula for Calculating the Beta of a Stock

In portfolio management theory, the Variance of Return measures an individual stock’s risk. To explain, the variance of return includes all the non-market risk assets with the stock. More conservative investors or those that wish to soon tap into their funds will likely prefer low-beta stocks. These kinds of stocks historically tend to not fluctuate much in value. They are companies that consistently deliver steady revenues and profits in times of economic expansion and hardship.

Why You Can Trust Finance Strategists

Typically, volatility is a sign of risk, with higher betas suggesting greater risk and lower betas projecting lower risk. Thus, stocks with more significant betas may gain more during bull markets. Alpha and beta are metrics that investors use to analyze the risk of a security or portfolio.

By understanding beta’s significance, calculation, and application, investors can build portfolios that align with their risk tolerance and financial objectives. Whether you are a seasoned investor or just starting, beta is a crucial concept to master as you navigate the complex landscape of financial markets. An investor uses beta to gauge how much risk a stock adds to a portfolio. While a stock that deviates very little from the market doesn’t add a lot of risk to a portfolio, it also doesn’t increase the potential for greater returns. Beta is the volatility of a security or portfolio against its benchmark. It’s a numerical value that signifies how much a stock price jumps around.

Portfolio beta can be estimated as the weighted-average of beta coefficients of individual mobile developer job description stocks. Beta coefficient is a measure of sensitivity of a company’s stock price to movement in the market. It is an indicator of a stock’s systematic risk which is the undiversifiable risk inherent in the financial system as a whole. In the world of finance, beta is a fundamental tool for assessing risk and making informed investment decisions.