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How to buy Berkshire Hathaway stock
Own Berkshire Hathaway stock in just a few minutes.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc is an insurance—diversified business based in the US. Berkshire Hathaway shares (BRK-B) are listed on the NYSE and all prices are listed in US Dollars. Berkshire Hathaway employs 391,500 staff and has a trailing 12-month revenue of around USD$249.9 billion.
How to buy shares in Berkshire Hathaway
- Compare share trading platforms. If you're a beginner, look for a platform with low commissions, expert ratings and investment tools to track your portfolio. Narrow down top brands with our comparison table.
- Open and fund your brokerage account. Complete an application with your personal and financial details, like your ID and bank information. Fund your account with a bank transfer, credit card or debit card.
- Search for Berkshire Hathaway Find the stock by name or ticker symbol: BRK-B. Research its history to confirm it's a solid investment against your financial goals.
- Purchase now or later. Buy today with a market order or use a limit order to delay your purchase until Berkshire Hathaway reaches your desired price. To spread out your purchase, look into dollar-cost averaging, which smooths out buying at consistent intervals and amounts.
- Decide on how many to buy. Weigh your budget against a diversified portfolio that can minimize risk through the market's ups and downs. You may be able to buy a fractional share of Berkshire Hathaway, depending on your broker.
- Check in on your investment. Congratulations, you own a part of Berkshire Hathaway. Optimize your portfolio by tracking how your stock — and even the business — performs with an eye on the long term. You may be eligible for dividends and shareholder voting rights on directors and management that can affect your stock.
What's in this guide?
- Berkshire Hathaway shares summary
- Compare share dealing platforms
- Is Berkshire Hathaway stock a buy or sell?
- Berkshire Hathaway performance over time
- Can I short Berkshire Hathaway shares?
- Is Berkshire Hathaway suitable for ethical investing?
- Are Berkshire Hathaway shares over-valued?
- Berkshire Hathaway's financials
- How volatile are Berkshire Hathaway shares?
- Does Berkshire Hathaway pay a dividend?
- Have Berkshire Hathaway shares ever split?
- Other common questions
Berkshire Hathaway share price
Use our graph to track the performance of BRK.B stocks over time.Berkshire Hathaway shares at a glance
Information last updated 2020-09-03.
| 52-week range | USD$159.5 - USD$231.61 |
|---|---|
| 50-day moving average | USD$204.3589 |
| 200-day moving average | USD$191.6378 |
| Wall St. target price | USD$226.5 |
| PE ratio | 24.2195 |
| Dividend yield | N/A (0%) |
| Earnings per share (TTM) | USD$13690.33 |
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Is it a good time to buy Berkshire Hathaway stock?
The technical analysis gauge below displays real-time ratings for the timeframes you select. This is not a recommendation, however. It represents a technical analysis based on the most popular technical indicators: Moving Averages, Oscillators and Pivots. Finder might not concur and takes no responsibility.
This chart is not advice or a guarantee of success. Rather, it gauges the real-time recommendations of three popular technical indicators: moving averages, oscillators and pivots. Finder is not responsible for how your stock performs.
Berkshire Hathaway price performance over time
Historical closes compared with the last close of $N/A
| 1 week (2020-09-07) | N/A |
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| 1 month (2020-08-14) | N/A |
| 3 months (2020-06-14) | N/A |
| 6 months (2020-03-14) | N/A |
| 1 year (2019-09-14) | N/A |
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| 2 years (2018-09-14) | N/A |
| 3 years (2017-09-14) | N/A |
| 5 years (2015-09-14) | N/A |
Is Berkshire Hathaway under- or over-valued?
Valuing Berkshire Hathaway stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of Berkshire Hathaway's overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge the value of a stock.
Berkshire Hathaway's P/E ratio
Berkshire Hathaway's current share price divided by its per-share earnings (EPS) over a 12-month period gives a "trailing price/earnings ratio" of roughly 24x. In other words, Berkshire Hathaway shares trade at around 24x recent earnings.
That's relatively low compared to, say, the trailing 12-month P/E ratio for the NASDAQ 100 at the end of 2019 (27.29). The low P/E ratio could mean that investors are pessimistic about the outlook for the shares or simply that they're under-valued.
Berkshire Hathaway's PEG ratio
Berkshire Hathaway's "price/earnings-to-growth ratio" can be calculated by dividing its P/E ratio by its growth – to give 0.2601. A low ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer better value, while a higher ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer worse value.
The PEG ratio provides a broader view than just the P/E ratio, as it gives more insight into Berkshire Hathaway's future profitability. By accounting for growth, it could also help you if you're comparing the share prices of multiple high-growth companies.
Berkshire Hathaway's EBITDA
Berkshire Hathaway's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) is USD$53.7 billion.
The EBITDA is a measure of a Berkshire Hathaway's overall financial performance and is widely used to measure a its profitability.
Berkshire Hathaway financials
| Revenue TTM | USD$249.9 billion |
|---|---|
| Operating margin TTM | 17.35% |
| Gross profit TTM | USD$105.5 billion |
| Return on assets TTM | 3.5% |
| Return on equity TTM | 5.77% |
| Profit margin | 8.9% |
| Book value | $245764.8 |
| Market capitalisation | USD$529.6 billion |
TTM: trailing 12 months
Shorting Berkshire Hathaway shares
There are currently 12.6 million Berkshire Hathaway shares held short by investors – that's known as Berkshire Hathaway's "short interest". This figure is 0.7% down from 12.7 million last month.
There are a few different ways that this level of interest in shorting Berkshire Hathaway shares can be evaluated.
Berkshire Hathaway's "short interest ratio" (SIR)
Berkshire Hathaway's "short interest ratio" (SIR) is the quantity of Berkshire Hathaway shares currently shorted divided by the average quantity of Berkshire Hathaway shares traded daily (recently around 5.4 million). Berkshire Hathaway's SIR currently stands at 2.32. In other words for every 100,000 Berkshire Hathaway shares traded daily on the market, roughly 2320 shares are currently held short.
However Berkshire Hathaway's short interest can also be evaluated against the total number of Berkshire Hathaway shares, or, against the total number of tradable Berkshire Hathaway shares (the shares that aren't held by "insiders" or major long-term shareholders – also known as the "float"). In this case Berkshire Hathaway's short interest could be expressed as 0.01% of the outstanding shares (for every 100,000 Berkshire Hathaway shares in existence, roughly 10 shares are currently held short) or 0.0104% of the tradable shares (for every 100,000 tradable Berkshire Hathaway shares, roughly 10 shares are currently held short).
Such a low SIR usually points to an optimistic outlook for the share price, with fewer people currently willing to bet against Berkshire Hathaway.
Find out more about how you can short Berkshire Hathaway stock.
Berkshire Hathaway's environmental, social and governance track record
Environmental, social and governance (known as ESG) criteria are a set of three factors used to measure the sustainability and social impact of companies like Berkshire Hathaway.
When it comes to ESG scores, lower is better, and lower scores are generally associated with lower risk for would-be investors.
Berkshire Hathaway's total ESG risk score
Total ESG risk: 18.31
Socially conscious investors use ESG scores to screen how an investment aligns with their worldview, and Berkshire Hathaway's overall score of 18.31 (as at 08/01/2020) is excellent – landing it in it in the 9th percentile of companies rated in the same sector.
ESG scores are increasingly used to estimate the level of risk a company like Berkshire Hathaway is exposed to within the areas of "environmental" (carbon footprint, resource use etc.), "social" (health and safety, human rights etc.), and "governance" (anti-corruption, tax transparency etc.).
Berkshire Hathaway's environmental score
Environmental score: 1.89/100
Berkshire Hathaway's environmental score of 1.89 puts it squarely in the 6th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that Berkshire Hathaway is a leader in its sector terms of its environmental impact, and exposed to a lower level of risk.
Berkshire Hathaway's social score
Social score: 4.83/100
Berkshire Hathaway's social score of 4.83 puts it squarely in the 6th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that Berkshire Hathaway is a leader in its sector when it comes to taking good care of its workforce and the communities it impacts.
Berkshire Hathaway's governance score
Governance score: 13.59/100
Berkshire Hathaway's governance score puts it squarely in the 6th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. That could suggest that Berkshire Hathaway is a leader in its sector when it comes to responsible management and strategy, and exposed to a lower level of risk.
Berkshire Hathaway's controversy score
Controversy score: 1/5
ESG scores also evaluate any incidences of controversy that a company has been involved in. Berkshire Hathaway scored a 1 out of 5 for controversy – the highest score possible, reflecting that Berkshire Hathaway has managed to keep its nose clean.
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) summary
Berkshire Hathaway Inc was last rated for ESG on: 2020-08-01.
| Total ESG score | 18.31 |
|---|---|
| Total ESG percentile | 8.88 |
| Environmental score | 1.89 |
| Environmental score percentile | 6 |
| Social score | 4.83 |
| Social score percentile | 6 |
| Governance score | 13.59 |
| Governance score percentile | 6 |
| Level of controversy | 1 |
Berkshire Hathaway share dividends
We're not expecting Berkshire Hathaway to pay a dividend over the next 12 months.
Have Berkshire Hathaway's shares ever split?
Berkshire Hathaway's shares were split on a 50:1 basis on 21 January 2010. So if you had owned 1 share the day before before the split, the next day you'd have owned 50 shares. This wouldn't directly have changed the overall worth of your Berkshire Hathaway shares – just the quantity. However, indirectly, the new 98% lower share price could have impacted the market appetite for Berkshire Hathaway shares which in turn could have impacted Berkshire Hathaway's share price.
Berkshire Hathaway share price volatility
Over the last 12 months, Berkshire Hathaway's shares have ranged in value from as little as $159.5 up to $231.61. A popular way to gauge a stock's volatility is its "beta".
Beta is a measure of a share's volatility in relation to the market. The market (NYSE average) beta is 1, while Berkshire Hathaway's is 0.8144. This would suggest that Berkshire Hathaway's shares are less volatile than average (for this exchange).
Berkshire Hathaway overview
Berkshire Hathaway Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in insurance, freight rail transportation, and utility businesses. It provides property, casualty, life, accident, and health insurance and reinsurance; and operates railroad systems in North America. The company also generates, transmits, stores, and distributes electricity from natural gas, coal, wind, solar, hydro, nuclear, and geothermal sources; operates natural gas distribution and storage facilities, interstate pipelines, and compressor and meter stations; and holds interest in coal mining assets. In addition, it offers real estate brokerage services; and leases transportation equipment and furniture. Further, the company manufactures boxed chocolates and other confectionery products; specialty chemicals, metal cutting tools, and components for aerospace and power generation applications; flooring, insulation, roofing and engineered, building and engineered components, paints and coatings, and bricks and masonry products, as well as offers homebuilding and manufactured housing finance; and recreational vehicles, apparel products, jewelry, and custom picture framing products, and alkaline batteries. Additionally, it manufactures castings, forgings, fasteners/fastener systems, and aerostructures; and seamless pipes, fittings, downhole casing and tubing, and various mill forms. The company distributes newspapers, televisions, and information; franchises and services quick service restaurants; distributes electronic components; and offers logistics services, grocery and foodservice distribution services, and professional aviation training and fractional aircraft ownership programs. It also retails automobiles; furniture, bedding, and accessories; household appliances, electronics, and computers; jewelry, watches, crystal, china, stemware, flatware, gifts, and collectibles; kitchenware; and motorcycle accessories. The company was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska.
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