Question

Please show work/formulas and financial calculator steps, if used. Answer as much as you can

(The following information applies to Problems 1-4)

The Collins Group, a leading producer of custom automobile accessories, has hired you to estimate the firm's weighted average cost of capital. The balance sheet and some other information are provided below.

Assets

Current assets                                        $ 38,000,000

Net plant, property, and equipment                    101,000,000

Total assets                                          $139,000,000

Liabilities and Equity

Accounts payable                                      $ 10,000,000

Accruals                                                9,000,000

Current liabilities                                   $ 19,000,000

Long-term debt (40,000 bonds, $1,000 par value)       40,000,000

Total liabilities                                     $ 59,000,000

Common stock (10,000,000 shares)                        30,000,000

Retained earnings                                     50,000,000

Total shareholders' equity                            80,000,000

Total liabilities and shareholders' equity            $139,000,000

1.    The Collins Group’s bond with $1,000 par value 20-year, 7.25% annual

      coupon rate with semiannual coupon payment is selling or $875. What is       the best estimate of the after-tax cost of debt if the firm’s tax rate    is 40%?

a. 4.64%

b. 4.88%

c. 5.14%

d. 5.40%

e. 5.67%

     

     

2.    The stock’s beta is 1.25, and the yield on a 20-year Treasury bond is 5.50%.

      The required return on the stock market is 11.50%. Based on the CAPM,

      what is the firm's cost of common stock?

a. 11.15%

b. 11.73%

c. 12.35%

d. 13.00%

e. 13.65%

3.    Which of the following is the best estimate for the weight of debt for use in calculating the firm’s WACC? The debt is selling for $875 per bond and the stock is selling or 15.25 per share

a. 18.67%

b. 19.60%

c. 20.58%

d. 21.61%

e. 22.69%

     

4.    What is the best estimate of the firm's WACC?

a. 10.85%

b. 11.19%

c. 11.53%

d. 11.88%

e. 12.24%

5.    Quinlan Enterprises stock trades for $52.50 per share. It is expected to pay a $2.50 dividend at year end (D₁ = $2.50), and the dividend is expected to grow at a constant rate of 5.50% a year. The before-tax cost of debt is 7.50%, and the tax rate is 40%. The target capital structure consists of 45% debt and 55% common equity. What is the company’s WACC if all the equity used is from retained earnings?

a. 7.07%

b. 7.36%

c. 7.67%

d. 7.98%

e. 8.29%

6.    A company’s perpetual preferred stock currently sells for $92.50 per share, and it pays an $8.00 annual dividend. If the company were to sell a new preferred issue, it would incur a flotation cost of 5.00% of the issue price. What is the firm's cost of preferred stock?

a. 7.81%

b. 8.22%

c. 8.65%

d. 9.10%

e. 9.56%

     

7.    The management of California Fluoride Industries (CFI) is planning next year’s capital budget. The company’s earnings and dividends are growing at a constant rate of 4 percent. The last dividend, D₀, was $0.80; and the current equilibrium stock price is $8.73. CFI can raise new debt at a 12 percent before‑tax cost. CFI is at its optimal capital structure, which is 35 percent debt and 65 percent equity, and the firm’s marginal tax rate is 40 percent. CFI has the following independent, indivisible, and equally risky investment opportunities:

                     Project           Cost        Rate of Return

                         A          $ 18,000               9%

                         B          16,000               11%

                         C          13,000               15%

                         D          23,000               13%

      What is CFI’s optimal capital budget?

      a. $70,000     b. $36,000     c. $34,000     d. $47,000     e. $0

     

8.    Radiator Products Company (RPC) is at its optimal capital structure of 75 percent common equity and 25 percent debt. RPC’s WACC is 12.50 percent. RPC has a marginal tax rate of 40 percent. Next year’s dividend is expected to be $2.50 per share, and RPC has a constant growth in earnings and dividends of 5 percent. The cost of common equity used in the WACC is based on retained earnings, while the before‑tax cost of debt is 10 percent. What is RPC’s current equilibrium stock price?

      a. $12.73      b. $17.23      c. $25.83      d. $20.37      e. $23.70

9.    Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

a. When calculating the cost of preferred stock, companies must adjust for taxes, because dividends paid on preferred stock are deductible by the paying corporation.

b. Because of tax effects, an increase in the risk-free rate will have a greater effect on the after-tax cost of debt than on the cost of common stock as measured by the CAPM.

c. If a company’s beta increases, this will increase the cost of equity used to calculate the WACC, but only if the company does not have enough retained earnings to take care of its equity financing and hence must issue new stock.

d. Higher flotation costs reduce investors' expected returns, and that leads to a reduction in a company’s WACC.

e. When calculating the cost of debt, a company needs to adjust for taxes, because interest payments are deductible by the paying corporation.

10.   Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

a. WACC calculations should be based on the before-tax costs of all the individual capital components.

b. Flotation costs associated with issuing new common stock normally reduce the WACC.

c. If a company’s tax rate increases, then, all else equal, its weighted average cost of capital will decline.

d. An increase in the risk-free rate will normally lower the marginal costs of both debt and equity financing.

e. A change in a company’s target capital structure cannot affect its WACC.

Answer 1

1) C, 2) d, 3) a, 4) c, 5) c, 6) d, 7) b, 8) c, 9) e, 10) c

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