Chapter 11 Exam Questions BSAD 8720
37. With its current financial policies, Flagstaff Inc. will have to issue new common stock to fund its capital budget. Since new stock has a higher cost than reinvested earnings, Flagstaff would like to avoid issuing new stock. Which of the following actions would REDUCE its need to issue new common stock? a. Increase the percentage of debt in the target capital structure. b. Increase the proposed capital budget. c. Reduce the amount of short-term bank debt in order to increase the current ratio. d. Reduce the percentage of debt in the target capital structure. e. Increase the dividend payout ratio for the upcoming year.
A. INCREASE THE PERCENTAGE OF DEBT IN THE TARGET CAPITAL STRUCTURE.
36. Which of the following is NOT a capital component when calculating the weighted average cost of capital (WACC) for use in capital budgeting? a. Accounts payable. b. Common stock "raised" by reinvesting earnings. c. Common stock raised by new issues. d. Preferred stock. e. Long-term debt.
A; ACCOUNTS PAYABLE
39. For a typical firm, which of the following sequences is CORRECT? All rates are after taxes, and assume that the firm operates at its target capital structure. a. re > rs > WACC > rd. b. WACC > re > rs > rd. c. rd > re > rs > WACC. d. WACC > rd > rs > re. e. rs > re > rd > WACC.
A; re > rs > WACC > rd.
45. Suppose Acme Industries correctly estimates its WACC at a given point in time and then uses that same cost of capital to evaluate all projects for the next 10 years, then the firm will most likely a. become less risky over time, and this will maximize its intrinsic value. b. accept too many low-risk projects and too few high-risk projects. c. become more risky and also have an increasing WACC. Its intrinsic value will not be maximized. d. continue as before, because there is no reason to expect its risk position or value to change over time as a result of its use of a single cost of capital. e. become riskier over time, but its intrinsic value will be maximized.
C. become more risky and also have an increasing WACC. Its intrinsic value will not be maximized.
43. Weatherall Enterprises has no debt or preferred stock⎯it is an all-equity firm⎯and has a beta of 2.0. The chief financial officer is evaluating a project with an expected return of 14%, before any risk adjustment. The risk-free rate is 5%, and the market risk premium is 4%. The project being evaluated is riskier than an average project, in terms of both its beta risk and its total risk. Which of the following statements is CORRECT? a. The project should definitely be rejected because its expected return (before risk adjustment) is less than its required return. b. Riskier-than-average projects should have their expected returns increased to reflect their higher risk. Clearly, this would make the project acceptable regardless of the amount of the adjustment. c. The accept/reject decision depends on the firm's risk-adjustment policy. If Weatherall's policy is to increase the required return on a riskier-than-average project to 3% over rS, then it should reject the project. d. Capital budgeting projects should be evaluated solely on the basis of their total risk. Thus, insufficient information has been provided to make the accept/reject decision. e. The project should definitely be accepted because its expected return (before any risk adjustments) is greater than its required return.
C. The accept/reject decision depends on the firm's risk-adjustment policy. If Weatherall's policy is to increase the required return on a riskier-than-average project to 3% over rS, then it should reject the project.
44. The Anderson Company has equal amounts of low-risk, average-risk, and high-risk projects. The firm's overall WACC is 12%. The CFO believes that this is the correct WACC for the company's average-risk projects, but that a lower rate should be used for lower-risk projects and a higher rate for higher-risk projects. The CEO disagrees, on the grounds that even though projects have different risks, the WACC used to evaluate each project should be the same because the company obtains capital for all projects from the same sources. If the CEO's position is accepted, what is likely to happen over time? a. The company will take on too many low-risk projects and reject too many high-risk projects. b. Things will generally even out over time, and, therefore, the firm's risk should remain constant over time. c. The company's overall WACC should decrease over time because its stock price should be increasing. d. The CEO's recommendation would maximize the firm's intrinsic value. e. The company will take on too many high-risk projects and reject too many low-risk projects.
C; The company's overall WACC should decrease over time because its stock price should be increasing.
38. Burnham Brothers Inc. has no retained earnings since it has always paid out all of its earnings as dividends. This same situation is expected to persist in the future. The company uses the CAPM to calculate its cost of equity, and its target capital structure consists of common stock, preferred stock, and debt. Which of the following events would REDUCE its WACC? a. The flotation costs associated with issuing new common stock increase. b. The company's beta increases. c. Expected inflation increases. d. The flotation costs associated with issuing preferred stock increase. e. The market risk premium declines.
E. THE MARKET RISK PREMIUM DECLINES.
47. 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 reinvested 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.
E. When calculating the cost of debt, a company needs to adjust for taxes, because interest payments are deductible by the paying corporation.
42. Taylor Inc. estimates that its average-risk projects have a WACC of 10%, its below-average risk projects have a WACC of 8%, and its above-average risk projects have a WACC of 12%. Which of the following projects (A, B, and C) should the company accept? a. Project C, which is of above-average risk and has a return of 11%. b. Project A, which is of average risk and has a return of 9%. c. None of the projects should be accepted. d. All of the projects should be accepted. e. Project B, which is of below-average risk and has a return of 8.5%.
E; Project B, which is of below-average risk and has a return of 8.5%.
11. For capital budgeting and cost of capital purposes, the firm should always consider reinvested earnings as the first source of capital⎯i.e., use these funds first⎯because reinvested earnings have no cost to the firm. a. True b. False
FALSE
12. Funds acquired by the firm through retaining earnings have no cost because there are no dividend or interest payments associated with them, and no flotation costs are required to raise them, but capital raised by selling new stock or bonds does have a cost. a. True b. False
FALSE
13. The cost of equity raised by retaining earnings can be less than, equal to, or greater than the cost of external equity raised by selling new issues of common stock, depending on tax rates, flotation costs, the attitude of investors, and other factors. a. True b. False
FALSE
14. The firm's cost of external equity raised by issuing new stock is the same as the required rate of return on the firm's outstanding common stock. a. True b. False
FALSE
15. The higher the firm's flotation cost for new common equity, the more likely the firm is to use preferred stock, which has no flotation cost, and reinvested earnings, whose cost is the average return on the assets that are acquired. a. True b. False
FALSE
25. Suppose the debt ratio (D/TA) is 50%, the interest rate on new debt is 8%, the current cost of equity is 16%, and the tax rate is 40%. An increase in the debt ratio to 60% would decrease the weighted average cost of capital (WACC). a. True b. False
FALSE
29. The lower the firm's tax rate, the lower will be its after-tax cost of debt and also its WACC, other things held constant. a. True b. False
FALSE
30. The text identifies three methods for estimating the cost of common stock from reinvested earnings (not newly issued stock): the CAPM method, the DCF method, and the bond-yield-plus-risk-premium method. However, only the DCF method is widely used in practice. a. True b. False
FALSE
31. The text identifies three methods for estimating the cost of common stock from reinvested earnings (not newly issued stock): the CAPM method, the DCF method, and the bond-yield-plus-risk-premium method. However, only the CAPM method always provides an accurate and reliable estimate. a. True b. False
FALSE
33. Since 70% of the preferred dividends received by a corporation are excluded from taxable income, the component cost of equity for a company that pays half of its earnings out as common dividends and half as preferred dividends should, theoretically, beCost of equity = rs(0.30)(0.50) + rps(1 − T)(0.70)(0.50). a. True b. False
FALSE
34. If expectations for long-term inflation rose, but the slope of the SML remained constant, this would have a greater impact on the required rate of return on equity, rs, than on the interest rate on long-term debt, rd, for most firms. Therefore, the percentage point increase in the cost of equity would be greater than the increase in the interest rate on long-term debt. a. True b. False
FALSE
4. Suppose you are the president of a small, publicly-traded corporation. Since you believe that your firm's stock price is temporarily depressed, all additional capital funds required during the current year will be raised using debt. In this case, the appropriate marginal cost of capital for use in capital budgeting during the current year is the after-tax cost of debt. a. True b. False
FALSE
5. The before-tax cost of debt, which is lower than the after-tax cost, is used as the component cost of debt for purposes of developing the firm's WACC. a. True b. False
FALSE
6. The cost of debt is equal to one minus the marginal tax rate multiplied by the average coupon rate on all outstanding debt. a. True b. False
FALSE
8. The cost of preferred stock to a firm must be adjusted to an after-tax figure because 70% of dividends received by a corporation may be excluded from the receiving corporation's taxable income. a. True b. False
FALSE
23. The cost of external equity capital raised by issuing new common stock (re) is defined as follows, in words: "The cost of external equity equals the cost of equity capital from retaining earnings (rs), divided by one minus the percentage flotation cost required to sell the new stock, (1 − F)."
FALSE This statement is true only if the expected growth rate is zero.
17. In general, firms should use their weighted average cost of capital (WACC) to evaluate capital budgeting projects because most projects are funded with general corporate funds, which come from a variety of sources. However, if the firm plans to use only debt or only equity to fund a particular project, it should use the after-tax cost of that specific type of capital to evaluate that project. a. True b. False
FALSE; In general, this statement is false, because the firm should be viewed as an ongoing entity, and using debt (or equity) to fund a given project will change the capital structure, and this factor should be recognized by basing the cost of capital for all projects on a target capital structure. Under some special circumstances, where a project is set up as a separate entity, then "project financing" may be used, and only the project's specific situation is considered. This is a specific situation, however, and not the "in general" case.
1. "Capital" is sometimes defined as funds supplied to a firm by investors. a. True b. False
TRUE
10. The cost of common equity obtained by retaining earnings is the rate of return the marginal stockholder requires on the firm's common stock. a. True b. False
TRUE
16. For capital budgeting and cost of capital purposes, the firm should assume that each dollar of capital is obtained in accordance with its target capital structure, which for many firms means partly as debt, partly as preferred stock, and partly common equity. a. True b. False
TRUE
18. If a firm's marginal tax rate is increased, this would, other things held constant, lower the cost of debt used to calculate its WACC. a. True b. False
TRUE
19. The reason why reinvested earnings have a cost equal to rs is because investors think they can (i.e., expect to) earn rs on investments with the same risk as the firm's common stock, and if the firm does not think that it can earn rs on the earnings that it retains, it should distribute those earnings to its investors. Thus, the cost of reinvested earnings is based on the opportunity cost principle. a. True b. False
TRUE
2. The cost of capital used in capital budgeting should reflect the average cost of the various sources of long-term funds a firm uses to acquire assets. a. True b. False
TRUE
20. When estimating the cost of equity by use of the CAPM, three potential problems are (1) whether to use long-term or short-term rates for rRF, (2) whether or not the historical beta is the beta that investors use when evaluating the stock, and (3) how to measure the market risk premium, RPM. These problems leave us unsure of the true value of rs. a. True b. False
TRUE
21. When estimating the cost of equity by use of the DCF method, the single biggest potential problem is to determine the growth rate that investors use when they estimate a stock's expected future rate of return. This problem leaves us unsure of the true value of rs. a. True b. False
TRUE
22. When estimating the cost of equity by use of the bond-yield-plus-risk-premium method, we can generally get a good idea of the interest rate on new long-term debt, but we cannot be sure that the risk premium we add is appropriate. This problem leaves us unsure of the true value of rs. a. True b. False
TRUE
24. If the expected dividend growth rate is zero, then the cost of external equity capital raised by issuing new common stock (re) is equal to the cost of equity capital from retaining earnings (rs) divided by one minus the percentage flotation cost required to sell the new stock, (1 − F). If the expected growth rate is not zero, then the cost of external equity must be found using a different formula. a. True b. False
TRUE
26. Firms raise capital at the total corporate level by retaining earnings and by obtaining funds in the capital markets. They then provide funds to their different divisions for investment in capital projects. The divisions may vary in risk, and the projects within the divisions may also vary in risk. Therefore, it is conceptually correct to use different risk-adjusted costs of capital for different capital budgeting projects. a. True b. False
TRUE
27. If a firm is privately owned, and its stock is not traded in public markets, then we cannot measure its beta for use in the CAPM model, we cannot observe its stock price for use in the DCF model, and we don't know what the risk premium is for use in the bond-yield-plus-risk-premium method. All this makes it especially difficult to estimate the cost of equity for a private company. a. True b. False
TRUE
28. The cost of debt, rd, is normally less than rs, so rd(1 − T) will normally be much less than rs. Therefore, as long as the firm is not completely debt financed, the weighted average cost of capital (WACC) will normally be greater than rd(1 − T). a. True b. False
TRUE
3. The component costs of capital are market-determined variables in the sense that they are based on investors' required returns. a. True b. False
TRUE
32. The text identifies three methods for estimating the cost of common stock from reinvested earnings (not newly issued stock): the CAPM method, the DCF method, and the bond-yield-plus-risk-premium method. Since we cannot be sure that the estimate obtained with any of these methods is correct, it is often appropriate to use all three methods, then consider all three estimates, and end up using a judgmental estimate when calculating the WACC. a. True b. False
TRUE
35. If investors' aversion to risk rose, causing the slope of the SML to increase, this would have a greater impact on the required rate of return on equity, rs, than on the interest rate on long-term debt, rd, for most firms. Other things held constant, this would lead to an increase in the use of debt and a decrease in the use of equity. However, other things would not stay constant if firms used a lot more debt, as that would increase the riskiness of both debt and equity and thus limit the shift toward debt. a. True b. False
TRUE
7. The cost of debt is equal to one minus the marginal tax rate multiplied by the interest rate on new debt. a. True b. False
TRUE
9. The cost of perpetual preferred stock is found as the preferred's annual dividend divided by the market price of the preferred stock. No adjustment is needed for taxes because preferred dividends, unlike interest on debt, is not deductible by the issuing firm. a. True b. False
TRUE
66. Adams Inc. has the following data: rRF = 5.00%; RPM = 6.00%; and b = 1.05. What is the firm's cost of common from reinvested earnings based on the CAPM? a. 11.30% b. 11.64% c. 11.99% d. 12.35% e. 12.72%
a. 11.30% rRF 5.00% RPM 6.00% b 1.05 rs = rRF + (RPM × b) 11.30%
70. Your consultant firm has been hired by Eco Brothers Inc. to help them estimate the cost of common equity. The yield on the firm's bonds is 8.75%, and your firm's economists believe that the cost of common can be estimated using a risk premium of 3.85% over a firm's own cost of debt. What is an estimate of the firm's cost of common from reinvested earnings? a. 12.60% b. 13.10% c. 13.63% d. 14.17% e. 14.74%
a. 12.60% Bond yield 8.75% Risk premium 3.85% rs = rd + Risk premium 12.60%
91. Refer to Exhibit 11.1. Which of the following is the best estimate for the weight of debt for use in calculating the firm's WACC? a. 18.67% b. 19.60% c. 20.58% d. 21.61% e. 22.69%
a. 18.67%
80. Avery Corporation's target capital structure is 35% debt, 10% preferred, and 55% common equity. The interest rate on new debt is 6.50%, the yield on the preferred is 6.00%, the cost of common from reinvested earnings is 11.25%, and the tax rate is 40%. The firm will not be issuing any new common stock. What is Avery's WACC? a. 8.15% b. 8.48% c. 8.82% d. 9.17% e. 9.54%
a. 8.15%
56. Which of the following statements is CORRECT? a. A cost should be assigned to reinvested earnings due to the opportunity cost principle, which refers to the fact that the firm's stockholders would themselves expect to earn a return on earnings that were distributed rather than retained and reinvested. b. No cost should be assigned to reinvested earnings because the firm does not have to pay anything to raise them. They are generated as cash flows by operating assets that were raised in the past; hence, they are "free." c. Suppose a firm has been losing money and thus is not paying taxes, and this situation is expected to persist into the foreseeable future. In this case, the firm's before-tax and after-tax costs of debt for purposes of calculating the WACC will both be equal to the interest rate on the firm's currently outstanding debt, provided that debt was issued during the past 5 years. d. If a firm has enough reinvested earnings to fund its capital budget for the coming year, then there is no need to estimate either a cost of equity or a WACC. e. The component cost of preferred stock is expressed as rp(1 − T). This follows because preferred stock dividends are treated as fixed charges, and as such they can be deducted by the issuer for tax purposes.
a. A cost should be assigned to reinvested earnings due to the opportunity cost principle, which refers to the fact that the firm's stockholders would themselves expect to earn a return on earnings that were distributed rather than retained and reinvested.
88. You have been hired by the CFO of Lugones Industries to help estimate its cost of common equity. You have obtained the following data: (1) rd = yield on the firm's bonds = 7.00% and the risk premium over its own debt cost = 4.00%. (2) rRF = 5.00%, RPM = 6.00%, and b = 1.25. (3) D1 = $1.20, P0 = $35.00, and g = 8.00% (constant). You were asked to estimate the cost of common based on the three most commonly used methods and then to indicate the difference between the highest and lowest of these estimates. What is that difference? a. 1.13% b. 1.50% c. 1.88% d. 2.34% e. 2.58%
b. 1.50%
78. You were recently hired by Garrett Design, Inc. to estimate its cost of common equity. You obtained the following data: D1 = $1.75; P0 = $42.50; g = 7.00% (constant); and F = 5.00%. What is the cost of equity raised by selling new common stock? a. 10.77% b. 11.33% c. 11.90% d. 12.50% e. 13.12%
b. 11.33%
76. Trahern Baking Co. common stock sells for $32.50 per share. It expects to earn $3.50 per share during the current year, its expected dividend payout ratio is 65%, and its expected constant dividend growth rate is 6.0%. 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 equity from new common stock? a. 12.70% b. 13.37% c. 14.04% d. 14.74% e. 15.48%
b. 13.37%
64. Perpetual preferred stock from Franklin Inc. sells for $97.50 per share, and it pays an $8.50 annual dividend. If the company were to sell a new preferred issue, it would incur a flotation cost of 4.00% of the price paid by investors. What is the company's cost of preferred stock for use in calculating the WACC? a. 8.72% b. 9.08% c. 9.44% d. 9.82% e. 10.22%
b. 9.08%
71. Bartlett Company's target capital structure is 40% debt, 15% preferred, and 45% common equity. The after-tax cost of debt is 6.00%, the cost of preferred is 7.50%, and the cost of common using reinvested earnings is 12.75%. The firm will not be issuing any new stock. You were hired as a consultant to help determine their cost of capital. What is its WACC? a. 8.98% b. 9.26% c. 9.54% d. 9.83% e. 10.12%
b. 9.26% WACC = wd × rd × (1 − T) + wp × rp + ws × rs 9.26%
41. Bloom and Co. has no debt or preferred stock⎯it uses only equity capital, and has two equally-sized divisions. Division X's cost of capital is 10.0%, Division Y's cost is 14.0%, and the corporate (composite) WACC is 12.0%. All of Division X's projects are equally risky, as are all of Division Y's projects. However, the projects of Division X are less risky than those of Division Y. Which of the following projects should the firm accept? a. A Division Y project with a 12% return. b. A Division X project with an 11% return. c. A Division X project with a 9% return. d. A Division Y project with an 11% return. e. A Division Y project with a 13% return.
b. A Division X project with an 11% return.
59. Which of the following statements is CORRECT? a. If the calculated beta underestimates the firm's true investment risk⎯i.e., if the forward-looking beta that investors think exists exceeds the historical beta⎯then the CAPM method based on the historical beta will produce an estimate of rs and thus WACC that is too high. b. Beta measures market risk, which is, theoretically, the most relevant risk measure for a publicly-owned firm that seeks to maximize its intrinsic value. This is true even if not all of the firm's stockholders are well diversified. c. An advantage shared by both the DCF and CAPM methods when they are used to estimate the cost of equity is that they are both "objective" as opposed to "subjective," hence little or no judgment is required. d. The specific risk premium used in the CAPM is the same as the risk premium used in the bond-yield-plus-risk-premium approach. e. The discounted cash flow method of estimating the cost of equity cannot be used unless the growth rate, g, is expected to be constant forever.
b. Beta measures market risk, which is, theoretically, the most relevant risk measure for a publicly-owned firm that seeks to maximize its intrinsic value. This is true even if not all of the firm's stockholders are well diversified.
63. Firm J's earnings and stock price tend to move up and down with other firms in the S&P 500, while Firm F's earnings and stock price move counter cyclically with J and other S&P companies. Both J and F estimate their costs of equity using the CAPM, they have identical market values, their standard deviations of returns are identical, and they both finance only with common equity. Which of the following statements is CORRECT? a. J and F should have identical WACCs because their risks as measured by the standard deviation of returns are identical. b. If J and F merge, then the merged firm MW should have a WACC that is a simple average of J's and F's WACCs. c. Without additional information, it is impossible to predict what the merged firm's WACC would be if J and F merged. d. Since J and F move counter cyclically to one another, if they merged, the merged firm's WACC would be less than the simple average of the two firms' WACCs. e. J should have the lower WACC because it is like most other companies, and investors like that fact.
b. If J and F merge, then the merged firm MW should have a WACC that is a simple average of J's and F's WACCs.
53. Which of the following statements is CORRECT? a. The tax-adjusted cost of debt is always greater than the interest rate on debt, provided the company does in fact pay taxes. b. If a company assigns the same cost of capital to all of its projects regardless of each project's risk, then the company is likely to reject some safe projects that it actually should accept and to accept some risky projects that it should reject. c. Because no flotation costs are required to obtain capital as reinvested earnings, the cost of reinvested earnings is generally lower than the after-tax cost of debt. d. Higher flotation costs tend to reduce the cost of equity capital. e. Since debt capital can cause a company to go bankrupt but equity capital cannot, debt is riskier than equity, and thus the after-tax cost of debt is always greater than the cost of equity.
b. If a company assigns the same cost of capital to all of its projects regardless of each project's risk, then the company is likely to reject some safe projects that it actually should accept and to accept some risky projects that it should reject.
54. The Tierney Group has two divisions of equal size: an office furniture manufacturing division and a data processing division. Its CFO believes that stand-alone data processor companies typically have a WACC of 9%, while stand-alone furniture manufacturers typically have a 13% WACC. She also believes that the data processing and manufacturing divisions have the same risk as their typical peers. Consequently, she estimates that the composite, or corporate, WACC is 11%. A consultant has suggested using a 9% hurdle rate for the data processing division and a 13% hurdle rate for the manufacturing division. However, the CFO disagrees, and she has assigned an 11% WACC to all projects in both divisions. Which of the following statements is CORRECT?
b. The decision not to adjust for risk means that the company will accept too many projects in the manufacturing division and too few in the data processing division. This will lead to a reduction in the firm's intrinsic value over time.
84. As the winner of a contest, you are now CFO for the day for Maguire Inc. and your day's job involves raising capital for expansion. Maguire's common stock currently sells for $45.00 per share, the company expects to earn $2.75 per share during the current year, its expected payout ratio is 70%, and its expected constant growth rate is 6.00%. New stock can be sold to the public at the current price, but a flotation cost of 8% would be incurred. By how much would the cost of new stock exceed the cost of common from reinvested earnings? a. 0.09% b. 0.19% c. 0.37% d. 0.56% e. 0.84%
c. 0.37%
81. Westbrook's Painting Co. plans to issue a $1,000 par value, 20-year noncallable bond with a 7.00% annual coupon, paid semiannually. The company's marginal tax rate is 40.00%, but Congress is considering a change in the corporate tax rate to 30.00%. By how much would the component cost of debt used to calculate the WACC change if the new tax rate was adopted? a. 0.57% b. 0.63% c. 0.70% d. 0.77% e. 0.85%
c. 0.70%
68. As a consultant to Basso Inc., you have been provided with the following data: D1 = $0.67; P0 = $27.50; and g = 8.00% (constant). What is the cost of common from reinvested earnings based on the DCF approach? a. 9.42% b. 9.91% c. 10.44% d. 10.96% e. 11.51%
c. 10.44% D1 $0.67 P0 $27.50 g 8.00% rs = D1/P0 + g 10.44%
92. Refer to Exhibit 11.1. 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%
c. 11.53%
75. As the assistant to the CFO of Johnstone Inc., you must estimate its cost of common equity. You have been provided with the following data: D0 = $0.80; P0 = $22.50; and g = 8.00% (constant). Based on the DCF approach, what is the cost of common from reinvested earnings? a. 10.69% b. 11.25% c. 11.84% d. 12.43% e. 13.05%
c. 11.84%
85. Granby Foods' (GF) balance sheet shows a total of $25 million long-term debt with a coupon rate of 8.50%. The yield to maturity on this debt is 8.00%, and the debt has a total current market value of $27 million. The company has 10 million shares of stock, and the stock has a book value per share of $5.00. The current stock price is $20.00 per share, and stockholders' required rate of return, rs, is 12.25%. The company recently decided that its target capital structure should have 35% debt, with the balance being common equity. The tax rate is 40%. Calculate WACCs based on book, market, and target capital structures. What is the sum of these three WACCs? a. 28.36% b. 29.54% c. 30.77% d. 32.00% e. 33.28%
c. 30.77%
73. The Lincoln Company sold a $1,000 par value, noncallable bond several years ago that now has 20 years to maturity and a 7.00% annual coupon that is paid semiannually. The bond currently sells for $925 and the company's tax rate is 40%. What is the component cost of debt for use in the WACC calculation? a. 4.28% b. 4.46% c. 4.65% d. 4.83% e. 5.03%
c. 4.65%
89. Refer to Exhibit 11.1. What is the best estimate of the after-tax cost of debt? a. 4.64% b. 4.88% c. 5.14% d. 5.40% e. 5.67%
c. 5.14%
79. 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 reinvested earnings? a. 7.07% b. 7.36% c. 7.67% d. 7.98% e. 8.29%
c. 7.67%
77. You are a finance intern at Chambers and Sons and they have asked you to help estimate the company's cost of common equity. You obtained the following data: D1 = $1.25; P0 = $27.50; g = 5.00% (constant); and F = 6.00%. What is the cost of equity raised by selling new common stock? a. 9.06% b. 9.44% c. 9.84% d. 10.23% e. 10.64%
c. 9.84%
48. Which of the following statements is CORRECT? a. We should use historical measures of the component costs from prior financings that are still outstanding when estimating a company's WACC for capital budgeting purposes. b. The cost of new equity (re) could possibly be lower than the cost of reinvested earnings (rs) if the market risk premium, risk-free rate, and the company's beta all decline by a sufficiently large amount. c. A firm's cost of reinvesting earnings is the rate of return stockholders require on a firm's common stock. d. The component cost of preferred stock is expressed as rp(1 − T), because preferred stock dividends are treated as fixed charges, similar to the treatment of interest on debt. e. In the WACC calculation, we must adjust the cost of preferred stock (the market yield) to reflect the fact that 70% of the dividends received by corporate investors are excluded from their taxable income.
c. A firm's cost of reinvesting earnings is the rate of return stockholders require on a firm's common stock.
50. 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.
c. If a company's tax rate increases, then, all else equal, its weighted average cost of capital will decline.
58. Which of the following statements is CORRECT? a. The DCF model is generally preferred by academics and financial executives over other models for estimating the cost of equity. This is because of the DCF model's logical appeal and also because accurate estimates for its key inputs, the dividend yield and the growth rate, are easy to obtain. b. The bond-yield-plus-risk-premium approach to estimating the cost of equity may not always be accurate, but it has the advantage that its two key inputs, the firm's own cost of debt and its risk premium, can be found by using standardized and objective procedures. c. Surveys indicate that the CAPM is the most widely used method for estimating the cost of equity. However, other methods are also used because CAPM estimates may be subject to error, and people like to use different methods as checks on one another. If all of the methods produce similar results, this increases the decision maker's confidence in the estimated cost of equity. d. The DCF model is preferred by academics and finance practitioners over other cost of capital models because it correctly recognizes that the expected return on a stock consists of a dividend yield plus an expected capital gains yield. e. Although some methods used to estimate the cost of equity are subject to severe limitations, the CAPM is a simple, straightforward, and reliable model that consistently produces accurate cost of equity estimates. In particular, academics and corporate finance people generally agree that its key inputs⎯beta, the risk-free rate, and the market risk premium⎯can be estimated with little error.
c. Surveys indicate that the CAPM is the most widely used method for estimating the cost of equity. However, other methods are also used because CAPM estimates may be subject to error, and people like to use different methods as checks on one another. If all of the methods produce similar results, this increases the decision maker's confidence in the estimated cost of equity.
52. Which of the following statements is CORRECT? Assume a company's target capital structure is 50% debt and 50% common equity. a. The WACC is calculated on a before-tax basis. b. The WACC exceeds the cost of equity. c. The cost of equity is always equal to or greater than the cost of debt. d. The cost of reinvested earnings typically exceeds the cost of new common stock. e. The interest rate used to calculate the WACC is the average after-tax cost of all the company's outstanding debt as shown on its balance sheet.
c. The cost of equity is always equal to or greater than the cost of debt.
57. Which of the following statements is CORRECT? a. The after-tax cost of debt that should be used as the component cost when calculating the WACC is the average after-tax cost of all the firm's outstanding debt. b. Suppose some of a publicly-traded firm's stockholders are not diversified; they hold only the one firm's stock. In this case, the CAPM approach will result in an estimated cost of equity that is too low in the sense that if it is used in capital budgeting, projects will be accepted that will reduce the firm's intrinsic value. c. The cost of equity is generally harder to measure than the cost of debt because there is no stated, contractual cost number on which to base the cost of equity. d. The bond-yield-plus-risk-premium approach is the most sophisticated and objective method for estimating a firm's cost of equity capital. e. The cost of capital used to evaluate a project should be the cost of the specific type of financing used to fund that project, i.e., it is the after-tax cost of debt if debt is to be used to finance the project or the cost of equity if the project will be financed with equity.
c. The cost of equity is generally harder to measure than the cost of debt because there is no stated, contractual cost number on which to base the cost of equity.
60. Which of the following statements is CORRECT? a. The WACC is calculated using a before-tax cost for debt that is equal to the interest rate that must be paid on new debt, along with the after-tax costs for common stock and for preferred stock if it is used. b. An increase in the risk-free rate is likely to reduce the marginal costs of both debt and equity. c. The relevant WACC can change depending on the amount of funds a firm raises during a given year. Moreover, the WACC at each level of funds raised is a weighted average of the marginal costs of each capital component, with the weights based on the firm's target capital structure. d. Beta measures market risk, which is generally the most relevant risk measure for a publicly-owned firm that seeks to maximize its intrinsic value. However, this is not true unless all of the firm's stockholders are well diversified. e. The bond-yield-plus-risk-premium approach to estimating the cost of common equity involves adding a risk premium to the interest rate on the company's own long-term bonds. The size of the risk premium for bonds with different ratings is published daily in The Wall Street Journal.
c. The relevant WACC can change depending on the amount of funds a firm raises during a given year. Moreover, the WACC at each level of funds raised is a weighted average of the marginal costs of each capital component, with the weights based on the firm's target capital structure.
49. Which of the following statements is CORRECT? a. The percentage flotation cost associated with issuing new common equity is typically smaller than the flotation cost for new debt. b. The WACC as used in capital budgeting is an estimate of the cost of all the capital a company has raised to acquire its assets. c. There is an "opportunity cost" associated with using reinvested earnings, hence they are not "free." d. The WACC as used in capital budgeting would be simply the after-tax cost of debt if the firm plans to use only debt to finance its capital budget during the coming year. e. The WACC as used in capital budgeting is an estimate of a company's before-tax cost of capital.
c. There is an "opportunity cost" associated with using reinvested earnings, hence they are not "free."
82. The CEO of Harding Media Inc. as asked you to help estimate its cost of common equity. You have obtained the following data: D0 = $0.85; P0 = $22.00; and g = 6.00% (constant). The CEO thinks, however, that the stock price is temporarily depressed, and that it will soon rise to $40.00. Based on the DCF approach, by how much would the cost of common from reinvested earnings change if the stock price changes as the CEO expects? a. −1.49% b. −1.66% c. −1.84% d. −2.03% e. −2.23%
c. −1.84%
74. To help estimate its cost of common equity, Maxwell and Associates recently hired you. You have obtained the following data: D0 = $0.90; P0 = $27.50; and g = 7.00% (constant). Based on the DCF approach, what is the cost of common from reinvested earnings? a. 9.29% b. 9.68% c. 10.08% d. 10.50% e. 10.92%
d. 10.50%
69. To help them estimate the company's cost of capital, Smithco has hired you as a consultant. You have been provided with the following data: D1 = $1.45; P0 = $22.50; and g = 6.50% (constant). Based on the DCF approach, what is the cost of common from reinvested earnings? a. 11.10% b. 11.68% c. 12.30% d. 12.94% e. 13.59%
d. 12.94% D1 $1.45 P0 $22.50 g 6.50% rs = D1/P0 + g 12.94%
90. Refer to Exhibit 11.1. 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%
d. 13.00%
72. Kenny Electric Company's noncallable bonds were issued several years ago and now have 20 years to maturity. These bonds have a 9.25% annual coupon, paid semiannually, sells at a price of $1,075, and has a par value of $1,000. If the firm's tax rate is 40%, what is the component cost of debt for use in the WACC calculation? a. 4.35% b. 4.58% c. 4.83% d. 5.08% e. 5.33%
d. 5.08%
87. Assume that you are an intern with the Brayton Company, and you have collected the following data: The yield on the company's outstanding bonds is 7.75%; its tax rate is 40%; the next expected dividend is $0.65 a share; the dividend is expected to grow at a constant rate of 6.00% a year; the price of the stock is $15.00 per share; the flotation cost for selling new shares is F = 10%; and the target capital structure is 45% debt and 55% common equity. What is the firm's WACC, assuming it must issue new stock to finance its capital budget? a. 6.89% b. 7.26% c. 7.64% d. 8.04% e. 8.44%
d. 8.04%
65. 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%
d. 9.10%
46. Which of the following statements is CORRECT? a. All else equal, an increase in a company's stock price will increase its marginal cost of reinvested earnings (not newly issued stock), rs. b. All else equal, an increase in a company's stock price will increase its marginal cost of new common equity, re. c. Since the money is readily available, the after-tax cost of reinvested earnings (not newly issued stock) is usually much lower than the after-tax cost of debt. d. If a company's tax rate increases but the YTM on its noncallable bonds remains the same, the after-tax cost of its debt will fall. e. When calculating the cost of preferred stock, a company needs to adjust for taxes, because preferred stock dividends are deductible by the paying corporation.
d. If a company's tax rate increases but the YTM on its noncallable bonds remains the same, the after-tax cost of its debt will fall.
61. Which of the following statements is CORRECT? a. Since its stockholders are not directly responsible for paying a corporation's income taxes, corporations should focus on before-tax cash flows when calculating the WACC. b. An increase in a firm's tax rate will increase the component cost of debt, provided the YTM on the firm's bonds is not affected by the change in the tax rate. c. When the WACC is calculated, it should reflect the costs of new common stock, reinvested earnings, preferred stock, long-term debt, short-term bank loans if the firm normally finances with bank debt, and accounts payable if the firm normally has accounts payable on its balance sheet. d. If a firm has been suffering accounting losses that are expected to continue into the foreseeable future, and therefore its tax rate is zero, then it is possible for the after-tax cost of preferred stock to be less than the after-tax cost of debt. e. Since the costs of internal and external equity are related, an increase in the flotation cost required to sell a new issue of stock will increase the cost of reinvested earnings.
d. If a firm has been suffering accounting losses that are expected to continue into the foreseeable future, and therefore its tax rate is zero, then it is possible for the after-tax cost of preferred stock to be less than the after-tax cost of debt.
62. Which of the following statements is CORRECT? Assume that the firm is a publicly-owned corporation and is seeking to maximize shareholder wealth. a. If a firm's managers want to maximize the value of their firm's stock, they should, in theory, concentrate on project risk as measured by the standard deviation of the project's expected future cash flows. b. If a firm evaluates all projects using the same cost of capital, and the CAPM is used to help determine that cost, then its risk as measured by beta will probably decline over time. c. Projects with above-average risk typically have higher than average expected returns. Therefore, to maximize a firm's intrinsic value, its managers should favor high-beta projects over those with lower betas. d. Project A has a standard deviation of expected returns of 20%, while Project B's standard deviation is only 10%. A's returns are negatively correlated with both the firm's other assets and the returns on most stocks in the economy, while B's returns are positively correlated. Therefore, Project A is less risky to a firm and should be evaluated with a lower cost of capital. e. If a firm has a beta that is less than 1.0, say 0.9, this would suggest that the expected returns on its assets are negatively correlated with the returns on most other firms' assets.
d. Project A has a standard deviation of expected returns of 20%, while Project B's standard deviation is only 10%. A's returns are negatively correlated with both the firm's other assets and the returns on most stocks in the economy, while B's returns are positively correlated. Therefore, Project A is less risky to a firm and should be evaluated with a lower cost of capital.
51. Which of the following statements is CORRECT? a. The after-tax cost of debt usually exceeds the after-tax cost of equity. b. For a given firm, the after-tax cost of debt is always more expensive than the after-tax cost of non-convertible preferred stock. c. Retained earnings that were generated in the past and are reported on the firm's balance sheet are available to finance the firm's capital budget during the coming year. d. The WACC that should be used in capital budgeting is the firm's marginal, after-tax cost of capital. e. The WACC is calculated using before-tax costs for all components.
d. The WACC that should be used in capital budgeting is the firm's marginal, after-tax cost of capital.
40. When working with the CAPM, which of the following factors can be determined with the most precision? a. The beta coefficient, bi, of a relatively safe stock. b. The most appropriate risk-free rate, rRF. c. The expected rate of return on the market, rM. d. The beta coefficient of "the market," which is the same as the beta of an average stock. e. The market risk premium (RPM).
d. The beta coefficient of "the market," which is the same as the beta of an average stock.
67. You have been hired as a consultant by Feludi Inc.'s CFO, who wants you to help her estimate the cost of capital. You have been provided with the following data: rRF = 4.10%; RPM = 5.25%; and b = 1.30. Based on the CAPM approach, what is the cost of common from reinvested earnings? a. 9.67% b. 9.97% c. 10.28% d. 10.60% e. 10.93%
e. 10.93% rRF 4.10% RPM 5.25% b 1.30 rs = rRF + (RPM × b) 10.925%
83. The president and CFO of Spellman Transportation are having a disagreement about whether to use market value or book value weights in calculating the WACC. Spellman's balance sheet shows 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 currently has a market value of $50 million. The 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 should be based on market value weights, but the president thinks book weights are more appropriate. What is the difference between these two WACCs? a. 1.55% b. 1.72% c. 1.91% d. 2.13% e. 2.36%
e. 2.36%
86. To estimate the company's WACC, Marshall Inc. recently hired you as a consultant. You have obtained the following information. (1) The firm's noncallable bonds mature in 20 years, have an 8.00% annual coupon, a par value of $1,000, and a market price of $1,050.00. (2) The company's tax rate is 40%. (3) The risk-free rate is 4.50%, the market risk premium is 5.50%, and the stock's beta is 1.20. (4) The target capital structure consists of 35% debt and the balance is common equity. The firm uses the CAPM to estimate the cost of common stock, and it does not expect to issue any new shares. What is its WACC? a. 7.16% b. 7.54% c. 7.93% d. 8.35% e. 8.79%
e. 8.79%
55. Careco Company and Audaco Inc are identical in size and capital structure. However, the riskiness of their assets and cash flows are somewhat different, resulting in Careco having a WACC of 10% and Audaco a WACC of 12%. Careco is considering Project X, which has an IRR of 10.5% and is of the same risk as a typical Careco project. Audaco is considering Project Y, which has an IRR of 11.5% and is of the same risk as a typical Audaco project.Now assume that the two companies merge and form a new company, Careco/Audaco Inc. Moreover, the new company's market risk is an average of the pre-merger companies' market risks, and the merger has no impact on either the cash flows or the risks of Projects X and Y. Which of the following statements is CORRECT?
e. If the firm evaluates these projects and all other projects at the new overall corporate WACC, it will probably become riskier over time.
