Advertisement
Canada markets closed
  • S&P/TSX

    22,465.37
    +165.54 (+0.74%)
     
  • S&P 500

    5,303.27
    +6.17 (+0.12%)
     
  • DOW

    40,003.59
    +134.21 (+0.34%)
     
  • CAD/USD

    0.7348
    +0.0002 (+0.03%)
     
  • CRUDE OIL

    80.00
    +0.77 (+0.97%)
     
  • Bitcoin CAD

    91,021.22
    +1,683.19 (+1.88%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    1,369.64
    -4.20 (-0.31%)
     
  • GOLD FUTURES

    2,419.80
    +34.30 (+1.44%)
     
  • RUSSELL 2000

    2,095.72
    -0.53 (-0.03%)
     
  • 10-Yr Bond

    4.4200
    -4.3770 (-49.76%)
     
  • NASDAQ

    16,685.97
    -12.35 (-0.07%)
     
  • VOLATILITY

    11.99
    -0.43 (-3.46%)
     
  • FTSE

    8,420.26
    -18.39 (-0.22%)
     
  • NIKKEI 225

    38,787.38
    -132.88 (-0.34%)
     
  • CAD/EUR

    0.6755
    -0.0001 (-0.01%)
     

One Thing To Remember About The Fort St. James Nickel Corp. (CVE:FTJ) Share Price

If you're interested in Fort St. James Nickel Corp. (CVE:FTJ), then you might want to consider its beta (a measure of share price volatility) in order to understand how the stock could impact your portfolio. Modern finance theory considers volatility to be a measure of risk, and there are two main types of price volatility. First, we have company specific volatility, which is the price gyrations of an individual stock. Holding at least 8 stocks can reduce this kind of risk across a portfolio. The second sort is caused by the natural volatility of markets, overall. For example, certain macroeconomic events will impact (virtually) all stocks on the market.

Some stocks see their prices move in concert with the market. Others tend towards stronger, gentler or unrelated price movements. Beta can be a useful tool to understand how much a stock is influenced by market risk (volatility). However, Warren Buffett said 'volatility is far from synonymous with risk' in his 2014 letter to investors. So, while useful, beta is not the only metric to consider. To use beta as an investor, you must first understand that the overall market has a beta of one. Any stock with a beta of greater than one is considered more volatile than the market, while those with a beta below one are either less volatile or poorly correlated with the market.

View our latest analysis for Fort St. James Nickel

What we can learn from FTJ's beta value

Looking at the last five years, Fort St. James Nickel has a beta of 1.87. The fact that this is well above 1 indicates that its share price movements have shown sensitivity to overall market volatility. Based on this history, investors should be aware that Fort St. James Nickel are likely to rise strongly in times of greed, but sell off in times of fear. Beta is worth considering, but it's also important to consider whether Fort St. James Nickel is growing earnings and revenue. You can take a look for yourself, below.

TSXV:FTJ Income Statement April 28th 2020
TSXV:FTJ Income Statement April 28th 2020

Could FTJ's size cause it to be more volatile?

Fort St. James Nickel is a rather small company. It has a market capitalisation of CA$2.1m, which means it is probably under the radar of most investors. Relatively few investors can influence the price of a smaller company, compared to a large company. This could explain the high beta value, in this case.

What this means for you:

Since Fort St. James Nickel has a reasonably high beta, it's worth considering why it is so heavily influenced by broader market sentiment. For example, it might be a high growth stock or have a lot of operating leverage in its business model. This article aims to educate investors about beta values, but it's well worth looking at important company-specific fundamentals such as Fort St. James Nickel’s financial health and performance track record. I highly recommend you dive deeper by considering the following:

ADVERTISEMENT
  1. Financial Health: Are FTJ’s operations financially sustainable? Balance sheets can be hard to analyze, which is why we’ve done it for you. Check out our financial health checks here.

  2. Past Track Record: Has FTJ been consistently performing well irrespective of the ups and downs in the market? Go into more detail in the past performance analysis and take a look at the free visual representations of FTJ's historicals for more clarity.

  3. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore our free list of these great stocks here.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.