Examine ethical behavior within firms in relation to financial management. Provide two examples of companies that have been guilty of ethics-based action related to financial management.
Examine ethical behavior within firms in relation to financial management. Provide two examples of companies that have been guilty of ethics-based action related to financial management.
FIN534 Financial Management
Week 2 Discussion
Determine why it is sometimes misleading to compare a company’s financial ratios with those of other firms that operate within the same industry. Support your response with an example from your research.
FIN534 Financial Management
Week 3 Discussion
Examine the concept of the time value of money in relation to corporate managers. Propose two methods in which time value of money can help corporate managers in general.
FIN534 Financial Management
Week 4 Discussion
Determine whether stock prices are affected more by long-term or short-term performance. Provide an example of the effect that supports your claim.
FIN534 Financial Management
Week 5 Discussion
Define the most important capital budgeting techniques. Name at least two capital budgeting techniques (e.g., NPV, IRR, Payback Period, etc.) that you used to arrive investment decisions.
FIN534 Financial Management
Week 6 Discussion
Create a unique hypothetical weighted average cost of capital (WACC) and rate of return.
Recommend whether or not the company should expand, and defend your position.
FIN534 Financial Management
Week 7 Discussion
State two desired characteristics of the Board of Directors of an effective corporation. Provide reasons for your response, citing the ways in which these characteristics usually lead to effective corporate governance.
FIN534 Financial Management
Week 8 Discussion
Contrast the differences between a stock dividend and a stock split.
Imagine that you are a stockholder in a company. Determine whether you would prefer to see the company that you researched declare a 100% stock dividend or declare a two-for-one split. Provide support for your answer with one real-world example of your preference.
FIN534 Financial Management
Week 9 Discussion
Determine the key reasons why a multinational corporation might decide to borrow in a country such as Brazil, where interest rates are high, rather than in a country like Switzerland, where interest rates are low. Provide support for your rationale.
FIN534 Financial Management
Week 10 Discussion
Examine the key reasons why a business may not want to hold too much or too little working capital. Provide examples that illustrate the consequences of either situation.
FIN534 Financial Management
Week 11 Discussion
Rate the three most important concepts that you learned in this course in order of importance. Provide a rationale for your ratings. Propose two applications of knowledge that you have learned in this course to your current or a future position.
FIN534 Financial Management
Week 2 Assignment
Stocks
Instructions
Answer the following questions in a separate document. Explain how you reached the answer or show your work if a mathematical calculation is needed, or both. Submit your assignment using the assignment link.
This course requires the use of Strayer Writing Standards. For assistance and information, please refer to the Strayer Writing Standards link in the left-hand menu of your course. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
Please respond to the following:
In your own words, identify two different stock exchanges in the United States. Describe the similarities and differences between the two stock exchanges. Identify one stock from each of the two stock exchanges.
Using the two stocks you identified, determine the free cash flow from 2015 and 2016. What inference can you draw from the companies’ free cash flow?
Using the 2017 and 2018 financial statements for both stocks, prepare two financial ratios for each of the following categories: liquidity ratios, asset management ratios, and profitability ratios. You should have a total of six ratios for each stock, per year. What challenges, strengths, or weaknesses do you see?
FIN534 Financial Management
Week 4 Assignment
RETURNS AND BOND RATINGS
Instructions
Answer the following questions in a separate document. Explain how you reached the answer or show your work if a mathematical calculation is needed, or both. Submit your assignment using the assignment link.
This course requires the use of Strayer Writing Standards. For assistance and information, please refer to the Strayer Writing Standards link in the left-hand menu of your course. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
Please respond to the following:
You have just won the Strayer Lottery jackpot of $11,000,000. You will be paid in 26 equal annual installments beginning immediately. If you had the money now, you could invest it in an account with a quoted annual interest rate of 9% with monthly compounding of interest. What is the present value of the payments you will receive?
In your own words and using various bond websites, locate one of each of the following bond ratings: AAA, BBB, CCC, and D. Describe the differences between the bond ratings. Identify the strengths and weaknesses of each rating.
FIN534 Financial Management
Week 6 Assignment
Mini Case
Instructions
Answer the following questions in a separate document. Explain how you reached the answer or show your work if a mathematical calculation is needed, or both. Submit your assignment using the assignment link.
This course requires the use of Strayer Writing Standards. For assistance and information, please refer to the Strayer Writing Standards link in the left-hand menu of your course. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
Mini Case
Suppose you decide (as did Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg) to start a company. Your product is a software platform that integrates a wide range of media devices, including laptop computers, desktop computers, digital video recorders, and cell phones. Your initial client base is the student body at your university. Once you have established your company and set up procedures for operating it, you plan to expand to other colleges in the area and eventually to go nationwide. At some point, hopefully sooner rather than later, you plan to go public with an IPO and then to buy a yacht and take off for the South Pacific to indulge in your passion for underwater photography. With these plans in mind, you need to answer for yourself, and potential investors, the following questions:
What is an agency relationship? When you first begin operations, assuming you are the only employee and only your money is invested in the business, would any agency conflicts exist? Explain your answer.
Suppose your company raises funds from outside lenders. What type of agency costs might occur? How might lenders mitigate the agency costs?
What is corporate governance? List five corporate governance provisions that are internal to a firm and are under its control.
Briefly describe the use of stock options in a compensation plan. What are some potential problems with stock options as a form of compensation?
Briefly explain how regulatory agencies and legal systems affect corporate governance.
FIN534 Financial Management
Week 7 Assignment
Financial Research Report Part 1
Introduction
Imagine that you are a financial manager researching investments for your client. Think of a friend or a family member as a client. Define their characteristics and goals such as an employee or employer, relatively young (less than 40 years) or close to retirement, having some savings/property, a risk taker or risk averter, etc. Next, use Nexis Uni at the Strayer University library, located at Nexis Uni, click on “Company Dossier” to research the stock of any U.S. publicly traded company that you may consider as an investment opportunity for your client. Your investment should align with your client’s investment goals. (Note: Please ensure that you are able to find enough information about this company in order to complete this assignment. You will create an appendix, in which you will insert related information.)
Instructions
Your final financial research report will be 6–8 pages long and be completed in two parts. This assignment only covers the first part. This assignment requires you to use at least five quality academic resources and cover the following topics:
Rationale for choosing the company in which to invest.
Ratio analysis.
Stock price analysis.
Recommendations.
Refer to the following resources to assist with completing your assignment:
Stock Selection
Forbes: Six Rules to Follow When Picking Stocks.
CNN Money: Stocks: Investing in Stocks.
The Motley Fool: 13 Steps to Investing Foolishly.
Seeking Alpha: The Graham And Dodd Method For Valuing Stocks.
Investopedia: Guide to Stock-Picking Strategies.
Seeking Alpha: Get Your Smart Beta Here! Dividend Growth Stocks As ‘Strategic Beta’ Investments.
Market and Company Information
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission: Market Structure.
Yahoo! Finance.
Seeking Alpha (Note: This is also available through the Android or iTunes App store.)
Morningstar (Note: You can create a no-cost Basic Access account.)
Research Hub, located in the left menu of your course in Blackboard.
Part 1 (1–2 pages)
Provide a rationale for the stock that you selected, indicating the significant economic, financial, and other factors that led you to consider this stock.
Suggest the primary reasons why the selected stock is a suitable investment for your client. Include a description of your client’s profile.
List five resources you’ll use to complete this assignment and begin to build your reference list. Remember you must use at least five quality academic resources for the final assignment.
This course requires the use of Strayer Writing Standards. For assistance and information, please refer to the Strayer Writing Standards link in the left-hand menu of your course. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
The specific course learning outcome associated with this assignment is as follows:
Determine the suitability of an investment strategy that considers external risk factors and a literature review.
FIN534 Financial Management
Week 9 Assignment
Financial Research Report Part 2
Overview
Imagine that you are a financial manager researching investments for your client. Think of a friend or a family member as a client. Define their characteristics and goals such as an employee or employer, relatively young (less than 40 years) or close to retirement, having some savings/property, a risk taker or risk averter, etc. Next, use Nexis Uni at the Strayer University library, located at Nexis Uni, click on “Company Dossier” to research the stock of any U.S. publicly traded company that you may consider as an investment opportunity for your client. Your investment should align with your client’s investment goals. Note: Please ensure that you are able to find enough information about this company in order to complete this assignment. You will create an appendix, in which you will insert related information.
Instructions
This final financial research report will be 6–8 pages long, including an edited version of the first part of your assignment submitted in Week 7. This assignment requires you to use at least five quality academic resources and cover the following topics:
Rationale for choosing the company in which to invest.
Ratio analysis.
Stock price analysis.
Recommendations.
Refer to the following resources to assist with completing your assignment:
Stock Selection
Forbes: Six Rules to Follow When Picking Stocks.
CNN Money: Stocks: Investing in Stocks.
The Motley Fool: 13 Steps to Investing Foolishly.
Seeking Alpha: The Graham And Dodd Method for Valuing Stocks.
Investopedia: Guide to Stock-Picking Strategies.
Seeking Alpha: Get Your Smart Beta Here! Dividend Growth Stocks as ‘Strategic Beta’ Investments.
Market and Company Information
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission: Market Structure.
Yahoo! Finance.
Mergent Online (Note: This resource is also available through the Strayer Learning Resource Center.)
Seeking Alpha (Note: This is also available through the Android or iTunes App store.)
Morningstar (Note: You can create a no-cost Basic Access account.)
Research Hub, located in the left menu of your course in Blackboard.
This assignment will be 6–8 pages including points 1 and 2 from Part 1 completed in Week 7.
Include your rationale, primary reasons for stock selection, and client’s profile from Part 1, making any revisions based upon Part 1 feedback if applicable.
Select any five financial ratios that you have learned about in the text. Analyze the past 3 years of the selected financial ratios for the company; you may obtain this information from the company’s financial statements. Determine the company’s financial health. (Note: Suggested ratios include, but are not limited to, current ratio, quick ratio, earnings per share, and price earnings ratio.)
Based on your financial review, determine the risk level of the stock from your investor’s point of view. Indicate key strategies that you may use in order to minimize these perceived risks.
Provide your recommendations of this stock as an investment opportunity. Support your rationale with resources, such as peer-reviewed articles, material from the Strayer University Library, and reviews by market analysts.
Conduct a literature review and list at least five quality academic resources. Note: Wikipedia and other similar websites do not qualify as academic resources.
This course requires the use of Strayer Writing Standards. For assistance and information, please refer to the Strayer Writing Standards link in the left-hand menu of your course. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
The specific course learning outcome associated with this assignment is as follows:
Create investment recommendations based on research that includes the rationale and risk mitigation for the chosen strategies.
FIN534 Financial Management
Week 10 Assignment
Cost of Capital
Instructions
Answer the following questions in a separate document. Explain how you reached the answer or show your work if a mathematical calculation is needed, or both. Submit your assignment using the assignment link.
This course requires the use of Strayer Writing Standards. For assistance and information, please refer to the Strayer Writing Standards link in the left-hand menu of your course. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
Please respond to the following:
Bad Boys, Inc. is evaluating its cost of capital. Under consultation, Bad Boys, Inc. expects to issue new debt at par with a coupon rate of 8% and to issue new preferred stock with a $2.50 per share dividend at $25 a share. The common stock of Bad Boys, Inc. is currently selling for $20.00 a share. Bad Boys, Inc. expects to pay a dividend of $1.50 per share next year. An equity analyst foresees a growth in dividends at a rate of 5% per year. The Bad Boys, Inc. marginal tax rate is 35%. If Bad Boys, Inc. raises capital using 45% debt, 5% preferred stock, and 50% common stock, what is Bad Boys, Inc.’s cost of capital?
If Bad Boys, Inc. raises capital using 30% debt, 5% preferred stock, and 65% common stock, what is Bad Boys, Inc.’s cost of capital?
FIN534 Financial Management
Week 5 Midterm Exam
• Question 1Depreciation expense
• Question 2Which one of the following is a source of cash?
• Question 3Which one of the following is a use of cash?
• Question 4The book value of a firm is
• Question 5A company sells used equipment with a book value of $100,000 for $250,000 cash. How would this transaction affect the company’s balance sheet?
• Question 6Which of the following statements concerning a firm’s cash flows and profits is false?
• Question 7Assume you are a banker who has loaned money to a firm, but that firm is now facing increased competition and reduced cash flows. Which one of the following ratios would you most closely monitor to evaluate the firm’s ability to repay its loan?
• Question 8At the end of 2017, Stacky Corp. had $500,000 in liabilities and a debt-to-assets ratio of 0.5. For 2017, Stacky had an asset turnover of 3.0. What were annual sales for Stacky in 2017?
• Question 9 Breakers Bay Inc. has succeeded in increasing the amount of goods it sells while holding the amount of inventory on hand at a constant level. Assume that both the cost per unit and the selling price per unit also remained constant. All else held constant, how will this accomplishment be reflected in the firm’s financial ratios?
• Question 10Ptarmigan Travelers had sales of $420,000 in 2016 and $480,000 in 2017. The firm’s current asset accounts remained constant. Given this information, which one of the following statements must be true?
• Question 11Primavera Holdings has a profit margin of 25%, an asset turnover of 0.5, and financial leverage (assets to equity) of 1.5. Primavera has $20 billion in assets, of which half, is in cash and marketable securities. Assume that Primavera earns a 3 percent after-tax return on cash and securities. What would Primavera’s return on equity be if it paid out 90% of its cash and marketable securities as a dividend to shareholders?
• Question 12Ratios that measure how efficiently a firm manages its assets and operations to generate net income are referred to as _____ ratios.
• Question 13On a common-size balance sheet, all accounts are expressed as a percentage of
• Question 14A project will produce after-tax operating cash inflows of $3,200 a year for 5 years. The after-tax salvage value of the project is expected to be $2,500 in year 5. The project’s initial cost is $9,500. What is the net present value of this project if the required rate of return is 16 percent?
• Question 15EAC Nutrition offers a 9.5-percent coupon bond with annual payments maturing 11 years from today. Your required return is 11.2 percent. What price are you willing to pay for this bond if the face (or par) value is $1,000?
• Question 16Sol’s Sporting Goods is expanding and, as a result, expects additional operating cash flows of $26,000 a year for 4 years. This expansion requires $39,000 in new fixed assets. These assets will be worthless at the end of the project. In addition, the project requires an additional $3,000 of net working capital throughout the life of the project; Sol expects to recover this amount at the end of the project. What is the net present value of this expansion project at a 16-percent required rate of return?
•Question 17When making a capital budgeting decision, which of the following is/are NOT relevant?
I. The size of a cash flow
II. The risk of a cash flow
III. The accounting earnings from a cash flow IV. The timing of a cash flow
• Question 18Ian is going to receive $20,000 six years from now. Sunny is going to receive $20,000 nine years from now. Which one of the following statements is correct if both Ian and Sunny apply a 7-percent discount rate to these amounts?
• Question 19What is the difference in the value of a $5,000 annual perpetuity and an annuity of $5,000 for 100 years? Assume that the discount rate is 8% and that cash flows are received at the end of the year.
• Question 20Company X has 2 million shares of common stock outstanding at a book value of $2 per share. The stock trades for $3.00 per share. It also has $2 million in face value of debt that trades at 90% of par. What is the appropriate debt ratio (D/(D+E)) to use for calculating Company X’s weighted-average cost of capital?
• Question 21Total risk is measured by _____, and systematic risk is measured by ____.
• Question 22The after-tax cost of debt generally increases when
I. a firm’s bond rating improves.
II. the market-required rate of interest for the company’s bonds increases.
III. tax rates decrease.
IV. bond prices rise.
• Question 23The excess return earned by a risky asset, for example, with a beta of 1.4, over that earned by a risk-free asset is referred to as a
• Question 24 Which of the following are examples of diversifiable risk?
I. An earthquake damages Oakland, California.
II. The federal government imposes an additional $1,000 fee on all business entities.
III. Employment taxes increase nationally.
IV. Toymakers are required to improve their safety standards.
•Question 25 The pre-tax cost of debt
FIN534 Financial Management
Week 11 Final Exam
Question 1Steve has estimated the cash inflows and outflows for his sporting goods store for next year. The report that he has prepared summarizing these cash flows is called a
Question 2Ruff Wear expects sales of $560, $650, $670, and $610 for the months of May through August, respectively. The firm collects 20 percent of sales in the month of sale, 70 percent in the month following the month of sale, and 8 percent in the second month following the month of sale. The remaining 2 percent of sales is never collected. How much money does the firm expect to collect in the month of August?
Question 3Assume each month has 30 days and AmDocs has a 60-day accounts receivable period. During the second calendar quarter of the year (April, May, and June), AmDocs will collect payment for the sales it made during which of the months listed below?
Question 4You are estimating your company’s external financing needs for the next year. At the end of next year, you expect that owners’ equity will be $80 million, total assets will amount to $170 million, and total liabilities will be $70 million. How much will your firm need to borrow, or otherwise acquire, from outside sources during the next year?
Question 5You are developing a financial plan for a corporation. Which of the following questions will be considered as you develop this plan?
I. How much will our sales grow?
II. Will additional fixed assets be required?
III. Will dividends be paid to shareholders?
IV. How much new debt must be obtained?
Question 6On May 1, Vaya Corp. had a beginning cash balance of $175. Vaya’s sales for April were $430, and May sales were $480. During May, the firm had cash expenses of $110 and made payments on accounts payable of $290. Vaya’s accounts receivable period is 30 days. What is the firm’s beginning cash balance on June 1?
Question 7Which of the following statements are correct?
I. Going-concern value of a firm is equal to the present value of expected future cash flows to owners and creditors.
II. When an acquiring firm purchases a target firm’s equity, the acquirer need not assume the target’s liabilities.
III. The market value of a public company reflects the worth of the business to minority investors.
IV. The fair market value of a business is usually the lower of its liquidation value and its going-concern value.
Question 8Consider the following premerger information about a bidding firm (Buyitall Inc.) and a target firm (Tarjay Corp.). Assume that neither firm has any debt outstanding.
Buyitall Tarjay
Shares outstanding 1,500 1,100
Price per share $32 $26
Buyitall has estimated that the present value of any enhancements that Buyitall expects from acquiring Tarjay is $2,600. What is the NPV of the merger assuming that Tarjay is willing to be acquired for $28 per share in cash?
Question 9Atmosphere, Inc. has offered $860 million cash for all of the common stock in ACE Corporation. Based on recent market information, ACE is worth $710 million as an independent operation. For the merger to make economic sense for Atmosphere, what would the minimum estimated present value of the enhancements from the merger have to be?
Question 10The following table presents forecasted financial and other information for Havasham Industries:
2015 2016 2017
Projected EBIT $ 317 $ 339 $ 363
Earnings after tax 197 210 225
Free cash flow 135 144 155
Havasham’s WACC 8.2%
Expected growth rate in FCFs after 2017 4.0%
Warranted MV firm/FCF in 2017 19.4
Warranted P/E in 2017 18.7
What is an appropriate estimate of Havasham’s terminal value as of the end of 2017 using a warranted multiple of free cash flow as your estimate?
Question 11STU Corporation has $3 million in earnings on $20 million in sales and has 1 million shares outstanding. Earnings per share of comparable firm 1 is $5, and earnings per share of comparable firm 2 is $2. Comparable firm 1’s stock is trading for $50, and comparable firm 2’s stock is trading for $28. What is the estimated stock price of STU using the method of comparables? (Use average multiples of the comparable firms when doing the calculations.)
Question 12Ginormous Oil entered into an agreement to purchase all of the outstanding shares of Slick Company for $60 per share. The number of outstanding shares at the time of the announcement was 82 million. The book value of liabilities on the balance sheet of Slick Co. was $1.46 billion. What was the cost of this acquisition to the shareholders of Ginormous Oil?
Question 13You constructed a pro forma balance sheet for next year and found that external financing required was negative (i.e., the company projected a financing surplus). Which of the following options, all else equal, would NOT correct the projected imbalance?
Question 14Which of the following can affect a firm’s sustainable rate of growth?
I. Asset turnover ratio
II. Profit margin
III. Dividend policy
IV. Financial leverage
Question 15Which one of the following correctly defines the retention ratio?
Question 16Hayesville Corporation had net income of $5 million this year on net sales of $125 million per year. At the beginning of this year, its debt-to-equity ratio was 1.5 and it held $75 million in total liabilities. It paid out $2 million in dividends for the year. What is Hayesville Corporation’s sustainable growth rate?
Question 17A firm has a retention ratio of 40 percent and a sustainable growth rate of 6.2 percent. Its asset turnover ratio is 0.85, and its assets-to-equity ratio (using beginning-of-period equity) is 1.80. What is its profit margin?
Question 18Which of the following is NOT a reason for why U.S. corporations haven’t issued more equity in recent years?
Question 19Which one of the following policies most directly affects the projection of the retained earnings balance to be used on a pro forma statement?
Question 20Zack owns a bond that will pay him $35 each year in interest plus a $1,000 principal payment at maturity. The $1,000 principal payment is called the
Question 21The price of a call option tends to be lower when which of the following is higher (all else equal)?
Question 22Carbon8 Corporation wants to raise $120 million in a seasoned equity offering, net of all fees. Carbon8 stock currently sells for $28.00 per share. The underwriters will require a fee of $1.25 per share, and indicate that the issue must be underpriced by 7.5%. In addition to the underwriter’s fee, the firm will incur $785,000 in legal, administrative, and other costs. How many shares must Carbon8 sell in order to raise the desired amount of capital?
Question 23Principal amounts are usually exchanged
Question 24Which of the following variables does NOT affect the value of a stock option?
Question 25Homemade leverage is
Question 26When considering the impact of distress costs on capital structure, which of the following facts should lead ABC Corporation to set a higher target debt ratio than XYZ Corporation (all else equal)?
Question 27In general, the capital structures used by non-financial U.S. firms
Question 28Which of the following is/are helpful for evaluating the effect of leverage on a company’s risk and potential returns?
I. Estimated pro forma coverage ratios
II. The recognition that financing decisions do not affect firm or shareholder value
III. A range of earnings chart and proximity of expected EBIT to the breakeven value IV. A conservative debt policy that obviates the need to evaluate risk
Question 29According to the pecking order theory of capital structure, why do firms avoid issuing equity?
Question 30According to the pecking order theory proposed by Stewart Myers of MIT, which of the following are correct?
I. For financing needs, firms prefer to first tap internal sources, such as retained profits and excess cash.
II. There is an inverse relationship between a firm’s profit level and its debt level.
III. Firms prefer to issue new equity rather than source external debt.
IV. A firm’s capital structure is dictated by its need for external financing.
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