Ameritrade

The firm has decided to increase the debt finance component portion from 20% to 30% which is a good decision since the interest payments are 100% tax deductible. The appropriate capital structure would be to

3) Ameritrade has a short history of trading, so its equity beta cannot be computed precisely using its own historical data. Exhibit 4 provides some choices for comparable firms. Which of these firms do you think are appropriate to use as comparables to determine the beta of Ameritrade’s planned advertising and technology investments? Why?

As a deep-discount brokerage, Ameritrade planned to improve its competitive position by price cutting, technology enhancements, and increased advertising in mid-1997. Before initiating the plan, Ameritrade needed know whether the investment returned more than it cost. We were hired to estimate the cost of capital correctly. The key question is to find suitable comparable firms to estimate Ameritrade’s asset beta, since it was a recently-listed firm. We thought discount brokerage companies were best due to same revenue resources. Proper risk-free rate and market risk premium should also be chosen carefully, and we used 30-year bonds YTM and the annual return difference

1. Please conduct a financial ratio analysis using the data in Exhibit 2. How do the results reflect different strategies pursued by the 4 firms?

Star Appliance is looking to expand their product line and is considering three different projects: dishwashers, garbage disposals, and trash compactors. We want to determine which project would be worth doing by determining if they will add value to Star. Thus, the project(s) that will add the most value to Star Appliance will be worth pursuing. The current hurdle rate of 10% should be re-evaluated by finding the weighted average cost of capital (WACC). Then by forecasting the cash flows of each project and discounting them by the WACC to find the net present value, or by solving for the internal rate of return, we should be able to see which projects Star should undertake.

The Charles Schwab & Company was founded shortly after the U.S. SEC deregulated brokerage commissions in 1975. The company differentiated itself at the time by becoming a self-service brokerage house that put the power in investor’s hands to make critical decisions while paying up to 75% less than traditional brokerage firms. This established the brand as a trend setter, which it further cemented by becoming a technological leader in 1996 when it introduced an online trading platform. Schwab then began to further cut prices and offer financial services through three different market segments:

iii. Prepare a basic discounted cash flow analysis; i.e. compute incremental cash flows and a terminal value, and discount them at a weighted average cost of capital. Can you do a multiples-type analysis here as well?

In this assignment you will demonstrate your understanding of capital investment techniques by evaluating the following three case studies.

The senior management of Company A employ you to advise them on the cost of capital the company should use to calculate net present value and decide whether or not to undertake a new investment project. You may assume that the new project is comparable to the average of the company’s existing projects in all respects.

7. Debt to capitalization = Long-term Debt in Balance Sheet / Long term debt + Net Assets in

Solutions to Valuation Questions 1. Assume you expect a company’s net income to remain stable at $1,100 for all future years, and you expect all earnings to be distributed to stockholders at the end of each year, so that common equity also remains stable for all future years (assumes clean surplus). Also, assume the company’s β = 1.5, the market risk premium is 4% and the 20-30 year yield on risk free treasury bonds is 5%. Finally, assume the company has 1,000 shares of common stock outstanding. a. Use the CAPM to estimate the company’s equity cost of capital. • re = RF + β * (RM – RF) = 0.05 + 1.5 * 0.04 = 11% b. Compute the expected net distributions to stockholders for each future year. • D = NI – ΔCE = $1,100 – 0 = $1,100 c. Use the

1-a How can the CAPM be used to estimate the cost of capital for a real business investment decision?

a) Weighting of Capital Structure: Use of book values of capital rather than the market values

Johnson Controls, Inc. is a global company that offers services and products aimed at optimizing operational efficiencies and energy of buildings, electronics, automotive batteries and interior systems for automobiles. The company’s headquarters are located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange as a fortune 500 company. Johnson Controls predicts that it will be able to increase its capital expenditures investments by $1.7 billion approximately. Most of the planned capital spending by the company will go to financing margin expansion and growth opportunities. This essay highlights the importance of companies to be able to evaluate investment decisions so that current and capital expenditure on proposed projects and schemes can be done prudently to ensure the company’s success (Johnson Controls (2015).

Another measure of a company’s ability to pay back loans, this time over a long period, measures solvency. Coca-Cola’s debt to total assets ratio is 35% in 2004 and 33% in 2005 compared to PepsiCo’s less attractive ratio of 52% in 2004 to 55% in 2005. Coca-Cola’s debts represent a healthy percentage of assets and in this case the lower the number the better. Coca-Cola’s debt to total assets ratio decreased by 2% from 2004 to 2005 while PepsiCo’s ratio increased by 3%. Were a potential lender or investor to look at these numbers alone they would prefer the performance of Coca-Cola over PepsiCo but there are still many calculations to be made and factors to consider.