Stock - Open Access Journals

  A stock is a common term used to describe any company's ownership certificates. A share, on the other hand , refers to a given company's stock certificate. Holding a share of a given company makes you a shareholder. There are two categories of stocks-traditional and preferred. The distinction is that while the former 's owners has voting powers and can be used in business proceedings, the latter is not. Before any dividends can be issued to other shareholders, preferred shareholders are legally entitled to receive a certain level of dividend payments however. A 'preferred stock convertible ‘ is simply a preferred stock with the possibility of conversion to a set number of common shares, usually after a specified date at any time.