Glossary
The terms you’ll meet on moatshark and in the filings behind it, in plain English.
- 13F (Form 13F-HR)
- A quarterly SEC filing listing the US-listed shares, options and some convertible bonds held by an investment manager with more than $100m in such holdings. Due within 45 days of the quarter end. It shows long positions only. What a 13F shows.
- 13D
- A filing by anyone who owns more than 5% of a US company’s voting shares and may want to influence it. Due within five business days, with amendments within two business days of a material change. How to read a 13D.
- 13G
- The short version of a 13D for passive holders of more than 5%. Large institutions file it 45 days after the quarter in which they cross the threshold.
- Form 4
- A filing by a company’s directors, officers and owners of more than 10% of its shares, reporting each trade within two business days. Moatshark shows open-market purchases (code P) and sales (code S). Insider buying.
- N-PORT
- A report of every holding in a US-registered fund, filed with the SEC and made public with a delay of about two months. Unlike a 13F it includes shares listed outside the US, bonds and cash.
- 10-K and 10-Q
- A US company’s annual report (10-K) and quarterly reports (10-Q) to the SEC, with audited (annual) or reviewed (quarterly) accounts. Most foreign companies file a 20-F or 40-F instead.
- 8-K
- A report of a significant event at a US company, such as an acquisition, a change of director, a new auditor or a write-down, usually within four business days.
- EDGAR
- The SEC’s public database of filings. Every figure on moatshark comes from it, and most pages link to the filing itself.
- Position, new and sold out
- A holding of one company. “New” means it wasn’t in the manager’s previous 13F; “sold out” means it was there last quarter and has gone.
- Added to and trimmed
- The number of shares rose or fell against the previous 13F, adjusted for stock splits.
- Portfolio weight
- A holding’s value as a share of the manager’s total 13F value. Weights in a 13F cover US-listed holdings only, so they can differ from the manager’s own figures.
- Quarter-end price
- The price implied by a 13F: the value reported divided by the number of shares, at the last day of the quarter. Not a live price.
- Not in the 13F
- Holdings that appear in a manager’s fund filings (N-PORT) but not in its 13F, usually shares listed outside the US. Moatshark marks them with a gold dot.
- Look-through earnings
- Your share of the profits of the companies you own, whether or not they pay them out: the fraction of each company you own times its net income. Look-through earnings explained.
- Net income (earnings)
- A company’s profit after all costs, interest and tax, as reported under US accounting rules (GAAP). It includes one-off gains and charges.
- Last 12 months (trailing 12 months)
- The total of the four most recent reported quarters. It smooths out seasonal swings and is always up to date.
- Free cash flow
- Cash from operations less capital spending: the cash a business produces that could be paid out or reinvested. Not meaningful for banks and lenders.
- Price ÷ earnings (P/E)
- What you pay for each $1 of yearly profit. A P/E of 20× is an earnings yield of 5%.
- Earnings yield
- Earnings ÷ price, the inverse of the P/E, as a percentage. Easier to compare with a bond yield or a savings rate.
- Dividend growth
- The yearly rate at which dividends per share have grown over the years we have figures for.
- Portfolio overlap
- How much two portfolios have in common by weight: for each company both own, the smaller of the two weights, added up. 100% means an identical mix. Compare yours.
- Value investing
- Buying shares for less than the business is worth, judged by its earnings, assets and prospects, and holding them as a part-owner rather than trading the price.
- Owner earnings
- Warren Buffett’s measure of what a business truly earns for its owners: profit plus depreciation and similar charges, less the capital spending needed to keep the business where it is.
- Moat
- A lasting advantage, such as a brand, low costs, a network or switching costs, that protects a company’s profits from competitors.
- Margin of safety
- The gap between what you think a business is worth and the price you pay: Benjamin Graham’s protection against error and bad luck.
- Superinvestor
- A name for investors with long records of beating the market by buying businesses below their value, from Buffett’s 1984 essay “The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville”.