Glossary of Accounting, Financial & Investing Information - U, V, W, X, Y & Z

A B C D E F G H-I J-K-L M N O P Q-R S T U-V-W-X-Y-Z

Uncovered call option

See covered vs. uncovered (naked) call.

Uncovered put option

See covered vs. uncovered (naked) put.

Underwriting

The distribution of shares or debt of a government or company to investors.

Unincorporated

An unincorporated business, such as a proprietorship, is one which has not gone through the process of being formed into a corporation.

Unlisted stock

A stock that does not trade on a stock exchange, but may be traded over the counter (OTC).

Value investor

A value investor is a person who purchases shares which appear to be a good value based on price/earnings, price/sales, price/book, price/cashflow, debt/equity and other financial ratios.

See also growth investor and momentum investor.

Voting stock

Shares of a corporation which give the shareholder a right to vote on matters pertaining to the corporation. A corporation may have voting and non-voting stock.

Warrant

The right to purchase shares from the issuing entity, at a set price, usually for a specified period of time.

Wash trade

A wash trade is the activity of buying and selling the same investment in a short period of time (usually on the same day), with no change in beneficial ownership. Wash trades are illegal when they are done to artificially inflate the trading volume or market value of a stock.

Weighted average cost

When an investor purchases shares in certain mutual funds on more than one occasion, the weighted average cost can be used as the cost basis when calculated gain or loss on sale. Weighted average cost per share is calculated as the total cost of all the shares divided by the total number of shares purchased.

Example: Investor A purchased shares of Mutual Fund A on three different occasions:

	Jan 15th - 100 shares @$20 each plus $29 commission = $2,029
	Feb 10th - 200 shares @$18 each plus $29 commission = $3,629
	Feb 17th - 100 shares @$19 each plus $29 commission = $1,929

Total cost = $7,587, divided by total shares (400) = weighted average cost of $18.9675/share.

If the investor subsequently sells 100 shares, then the cost basis allocated to the sold shares (for tax purposes) would be $18.9675 x 100, = $1,896.75. The cost basis of the remaining 300 shares would be $7,587 - $1,896.75 = $5,690.25.

Except for certain mutual fund shares, the average price per share cannot be used to calculate gains or losses on the sale of stock.

Working capital

Current assets minus current liabilities. This reflects the company's ability to cover its short term debts.

Working capital ratio

Also called current ratio, this is the current assets divided by the current liabilities.

Yield

This is a percentage which reflects the annual return on an investment. See dividend yield.

Revised: October 12, 2021