The correct answer is: C. beta coefficient.
Beta is a measure of a stock’s volatility relative to the market. A stock with a beta of 1 has the same volatility as the market, while a stock with a beta of 2 is twice as volatile as the market. A stock with a beta of 0.5 is half as volatile as the market.
Leverage is a measure of how much debt a company uses to finance its assets. A company with a high leverage ratio is more risky than a company with a low leverage ratio.
Standard deviation is a measure of how spread out a set of data is. A high standard deviation indicates that the data is spread out over a large range, while a low standard deviation indicates that the data is clustered closely together.
Coefficient of variation is a measure of the relative variability of a set of data. It is calculated by dividing the standard deviation by the mean. A high coefficient of variation indicates that the data is very variable, while a low coefficient of variation indicates that the data is very stable.
In conclusion, beta is the best measure of risk for a stock because it takes into account the stock’s volatility relative to the market.