1. The Mountain Fresh Company had earnings per share (EPS) of $6.32 in 2006 and $11.48 in 2011. The company pays out 30 percent of its earnings as dividends per share (DPS), and the company’s stock price is currently $37.50 (in 2011).
(a) Compute the growth rate in dividends (g) over this 5-year period.
(b) Compute the expected dividend per share next year (i.e., what is D1, assuming the earnings and dividends of Mountain Fresh growth at a constant rate).
(c) Based on the information given above, what is the cost of retained earnings common equity (rs) for Mountain Fresh Company?
2. The director of capital budgeting for a firm has identified two mutually exclusive projects, A and B, with the following expected net cash flows:
Expected Net Cash Flows
Year Project A Project B
0 ($100) ($100)
1 70 10
2 50 60
3 20 80
Both of the projects have a cost of capital of 14 percent.
(i) What is the regular payback period (in years) for Project B?
(ii) What is Project A's net present value (NPV)?
(iii) What is the profitability index (PI) for Project B?
(iv) What is the modified internal rate of return for Project A?
3a. Clemson Software is considering a new project whose data are shown below. The required equipment has a 3-year tax life, after which it will be worthless, and it will be depreciated by the straight-line method over 3 years. Revenues and other operating costs are expected to be constant over the project’s 3-year life. What is the project’s Year 1 cash flow?
Equipment cost (depreciable basis) $65,000
Straight-line depreciation rate 33.333%
Sales revenues, each year $60,000
Operating costs (excl. deprec.) $25,000
Tax rate 35.0%
3b. Weaver Chocolate Co. expects to earn $3.50 per share during the current year, its expected dividend payout ratio is 65%, its expected constant dividend growth rate is 6.0%, and its common stock currently sells for $32.50 per share. New stock can be sold to the public at the current price, but a flotation cost of 5% would be incurred. What would be the cost of retained earnings common equity (rs) for Weaver Chocolate Co.? What would be the cost of equity from new common stock (re)?
4a. Church Inc. is presently enjoying relatively high growth because of a surge in the demand for its new product. Management expects earnings and dividends to grow at a rate of 25% for the next 4 years, after which competition will probably reduce the growth rate in earnings and dividends to zero, i.e., g = 0. The company’s last dividend, D0, was $1.25, its beta is 1.20, the market risk premium is 5.50%, and the risk-free rate is 3.00%. What is the current price of the common stock?
4b. A company is expected to pay a dividend of D1 = $1.25 per share at the end of the year, and that dividend is expected to grow at a constant rate of 6.00% per year in the future. The company's beta is 1.15, the market risk premium is 5.50%, and the risk-free rate is 4.00%. What is the company's stock price today (P2012)? All things held constant, what would be the price of this company’s stock in eight years (P2020)?
5a. Sapp Trucking’s balance sheet demonstrates a total of noncallable $45 million long-term debt with a coupon rate of 7.00% and a yield to maturity of 6.00%. This debt presently has a market value of $50 million. The balance sheet also shows that company has 10 million shares of common stock, and the book value of the common equity (common stock plus retained earnings) is $65 million. The current stock price is $22.50 per share; stockholders' required return, rs, is 14.00%; and the firm's tax rate is 40%. The CFO thinks the WACC must be based on market value weights, but the president thinks book weights are more appropriate.
What is the WACC based on the CFO’s preference (i.e., market value weights)? What is the WACC based on the president’s preference (book value weights)?