Question

Alpha Industries stock sold for $39 a share at the beginning of the year. During the year, the company paid a dividend of $3 a share and then ended the year with a stock price of $37. The change in the stock price is best described as a:

Answer 1

Answer: c. capital loss.

Explanation:

A capital loss refers to a scenario where the price of a security falls below the price at which it was purchased. This is what happened to the Alpha Industries stock above as the price dropped from $39 to $37 which led to a capital loss of $2.

The dividends paid seem to outweigh the capital loss but we cannot be certain of this unless we know the tax rate being applied to the dividends and because these are usually high, the after tax dividends might have been lower the capital loss of $2.