Beta (1 Year, vs. S&P 500): formula and how to read it

How much the stock moved with the S&P 500 over the last year; 1 moves in step. The covariance of the stock's daily returns with those of the S&P 500 fund (SPY), divided by the variance of SPY's returns, over the last 252 trading days. Stock Meadow computes it from end-of-day prices; the Beta metric is the data provider's own figure. Above 1 swings more than the market and below 1 less, and lower is calmer.

Stock Meadow groups it under Price trend, and shows it in tables as Beta 1Y (SPY).

Beta = covariance of the stock's daily returns with SPY's daily returns ÷ variance of SPY's daily returns, over the last 252 trading days

A stock that has tended to gain 1.3% when SPY gains 1% and lose 1.3% when SPY loses 1% has a beta of about 1.3. The numbers are made up for illustration.

Above 1 means the stock has swung more than the market, below 1 less, and below 0 tends to move the opposite way. Lower is calmer, so a lower figure scores better.

When Stock Meadow ranks stocks, a lower figure scores better.

• Beta describes the past year's co-movement and can change.
• A low beta does not mean low risk: a stock can be volatile yet move independently of the market.
• It needs a full year of prices that overlap with SPY, so it is blank for recent listings.

How Stock Meadow handles gaps. Usually blank when there is less than a year of prices that overlap with the S&P 500.

Treat any single metric as one clue, and read the company's financial statements before drawing a conclusion. Stock Meadow's figures are research tools based on reported data, not investment advice.

In Weighted ranking, Z-score composite and Balanced (no weak link), you choose the metrics and weights yourself, so you can include it in a custom score.

No fixed-recipe model scores it.

Read about every scoring model in How scores work.

• Beta: how much the stock moves with the market; 1 moves in step.
• Stock Volatility (60-Day): how much the price has swung lately.
• Average True Range (ATR %): how far the price typically moves in a day, as a share of the price.

How is this different from the Beta metric?

The Beta metric is the data provider's figure and can only be used as a filter. Beta (1 year) is calculated by Stock Meadow from daily prices over a stated 252-day window, and it can be scored.

Is a higher or lower Beta 1Y (SPY) better?

When Stock Meadow ranks stocks, a lower figure scores better. That is a ranking convention, so read Beta 1Y (SPY) alongside other measures and compare similar companies.

Why is Beta 1Y (SPY) blank for some stocks?

It is usually blank when there is less than a year of prices that overlap with the S&P 500. Stock Meadow leaves the figure blank rather than guessing it.