Booyah Breakdown: Back to School

3. Listen to previous conference calls and read past analyst reports. The calls are generally available on your company's Web site. You can either listen to them or read the transcripts. And while the analyst reports are a bit harder to come by because you may have to pay for them, a recent Booyah Breakdown column tackled some of the best ways to find good research.

4. Enter the company's name in a search engine and read all of the latest news and stories that have been written on it.

Once you complete those four assignments, you should be armed with enough information to decide if the stock's worth buying.

Four Assignments for the Stocks You Own

The markets are far from stagnant, so the reasons you bought the stock could change on a dime. That's why Cramer says you need to commit at least one hour a week to monitoring your stocks.

Here are your weekly stock assignments:

1. Take a look at the news that was written about your company during the week to stay on top of any changes.

2. Analyst reports get updated all the time. Read the latest versions to get an idea of analysts' thoughts on the stock.

3. Evaluate recent developments outside the stock market and how they may affect your company. Will your stock get hurt because of the U.K. terrorist plot? If we have a harsh winter, is your company affected? Determine how the economy and outside factors play into the future of your stock.

4. Decide if it's still a keeper. At the end of your hour-long research session, you should have a definite answer on whether you need to buy more, hold, or sell.

If you can't come up with an answer, go do more homework.

Keep in mind that earnings season is like exam time -- you have to beef up your studying. You've got quarterly conference calls and earnings reports to dissect. Cramer says "the "holy grail" of homework is the earnings conference call held in conjunction with the company's release of its quarterly earnings report. So be sure to allot extra time for all that. And for more help navigating through earnings season, check out this recent column.

Now get busy and do your homework!

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