What is a Stock Split?

About Stock Split:

• A stock split happens when a company increases the number of its shares to boost the stock's liquidity.
• It is a corporate action in which a company issues additional shares to shareholders, increasing the total by the specified ratio based on the shares they held previously.
• Although the number of shares outstanding increases, there is no change to the company's total market capitalization as the price of each share will split as well.
• The most common split ratios are 2-for-1 or 3-for-1 (sometimes denoted as 2:1 or 3:1).  This means that for every share held before the split, each stockholder will have two or three shares, respectively, after the split.
• The number of shares increases, but the price per share goes down in proportion.
• Why is a stock split done?
  • It is done to infuse liquidity and to make shares affordable for various investors who could not buy the shares of that company before due to high prices.
  • It is sometimes aimed at helping a company meet the minimum requirements to remain listed on an exchange. This is because some stock indexes are price-weighted, meaning a company wishing to join the index would need to have, among other criteria, a price that falls within a certain band. 
• What is a Reverse Stock Split?
  • It is the opposite transaction, in which a company lowers, instead of increasing, the number of shares outstanding, raising the share price accordingly.
  • The total value of your shares would remain consistent.