Note that the stock balance indicator module must be installed in your store.
I admin > Settings > Graphic stock status is set to display the yellow and red icons.
"Number to display yellow" is set to "date_available", which means that the yellow icon (with the text "Stocked later") is only displayed on products that will be stocked later. You can change this to a numeric value so that the yellow icon appears with the text "A few left in stock" if the stock balance is less than or equal to the value you entered here and greater than the value you entered for "Quantity to display red".
"Number to display red" is set to 0, which means that if the stock balance for product is 0, a red icon is displayed with the text "Order item".
The icons with the associated text are displayed in the product list and on the product information page in the store.