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If you're just starting out learning how the stock market works, reading the stock tables in the paper can be confusing. It's important to learn how to read stocks, though, and it won't take a lot of time.

To begin, you'll notice that there are about twelve columns across the table, and each stock has its own line. The first two columns (usually labeled something like "52W High" and "52W Low") are dealing with the stock's performance over the past year. You'll see the highest point the stock has achieved in the last 52 weeks in the "52W High" column. Its lowest value will be in the "52W Low" column.

In the follow column you'll see the actual name of the stock. This will be followed by another column that shows the stock's ticker symbol. Each stock has a unique combination of letters. Perhaps you'll even recognize a few (or more than a few) of these tickers. They periodically run across the bottom of the screen of cable news networks.

Speaking of TV, you might want to watch the financial shows. They can give you a lot of help and information that will show you how to read stocks and understand the stock market even better.

There's another column next to the ticker column, and it's labeled "Div." This indicates the stock's annual dividend paid out per share. If you see a blank space in this column, that means the stock doesn't pay dividends right now. The same goes for the next column - "Yield %" - the percentage return on the dividend.

P/E is the price to earnings ratio. Dividing the current stock price by earnings per share for the last four quarters gives you this number.

The next two columns are "High" and "Low." These are the highest and lowest points that the stock reached in the day's trading. "Net Change" shows the change from the day before; "Close" tells you the point when the stock closed for the day.

Once you're armed with a good working knowledge of how to read stocks, you can begin to delve into other aspects of the market.