Web Site Can Help You Figure Out Share Values

Sacramento Bee

Need an idea of the actual per-share value of your stock investments?

Then check out www.valuepro.net , a Web site created by a group of professors at the Smeal College of Business Administration at Penn State University.

Gary Gray, visiting professor of finance at the business college and co-author of the book "StreetSmart Guide to Valuing a Stock" (McGraw-Hill), notes that the value of any investment is equal to the expected cash flows of the asset, discounted for timing and risk.

Simple, eh? Well, if you're not interested in doing the math, the Web site may be your answer.

The site uses data from the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as quarterly and annual income statements, balance sheets and cash flow statements to calculate intrinsic value, which may be considerably less, or much more, than the current share price.

"Our goal is to demystify the stock valuation process, make stock valuation easier to understand, and show investors how to make money in the stock market by purchasing 'undervalued' stocks and selling 'overvalued' stocks," said J. Randall Woolridge, Professor of Finance at Smeal.

Give a gift of education

If you're still casting about for that gift for your favorite child or grandchild, here's one worthy of consideration: enrollment in Golden State ScholarShare, a program designed to save for college education.

ScholarShare allows any relative or friend to open an account for a youngster, and it's suitable for higher education or any post-secondary education, including vocational school.

Accounts can be opened with as little as $25 -- or up to $100,000. And funds may be applied to tuition, room and board as well as other expenses.

Funds can also be used at public or private schools, including those outside California.

In addition, as of Jan. 1, money withdrawn will be taxed at the student's state income tax rate. Withdrawals also are free from federal taxes.

The program is explained in detail at the Web site, www.scholarshare.com . Or call toll-free, (877) 728-4338.

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REPORTERS & EDITORS: For more information, please contact Wyatt DuBois in the Smeal College of Business Media Relations Office at 814-863-3798 or wed112@psu.edu .

Penn State's Smeal College of Business offers highly ranked undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA, Ph.D., and executive education opportunities to more than 5,500 students at all levels. Featuring academic departments of accounting, finance, marketing, insurance and real estate, management, and supply chain and information systems, the college is also home to major research centers such as the Center for Supply Chain Research, the Institute for the Study of Business Markets, the eBusiness Research Center, the Farrell Center for Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the Center for Global Business Studies, and the Center for the Management of Technological and Organizational Change.

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