Exam 10: The Cost of Capital

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.

If the expected dividend growth rate is zero, then the cost of external equity capital raised by issuing new common stock If the expected growth rate is not zero, then the cost of external equity must be found using a different formula.

Bankston Corporation forecasts that if all of its existing financial policies are followed, its proposed capital budget would be so large that it would have to issue new common stock. Since new stock has a higher cost than retained earnings, Bankston would like to avoid issuing new stock. Which of the following actions would REDUCE its need to issue new common stock?

Which of the following is NOT a capital component when calculating the weighted average cost of capital (WACC) for use in capital budgeting?

Sorensen Systems Inc. is expected to pay a $2.50 dividend at year end (D1 = $2.50), the dividend is expected to grow at a constant rate of 5.50% a year, and the common stock currently sells for $52.50 a share. 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?

The cost of debt is equal to one minus the marginal tax rate multiplied by the interest rate on new debt.

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.

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)."

Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

(The following information applies to Problems 91, 92, 93, and 94.) Assume that you have been hired as a consultant by CGT, a major producer of chemicals and plastics, including plastic grocery bags, styrofoam cups, and fertilizers, to estimate the firm's weighted average cost of capital. The balance sheet and some other information are provided below. The stock is currently selling for $15.25 per share, and its noncallable $1,000 par value, 20-year, 7.25% bonds with semiannual payments are selling for $875.00. The beta is 1.25, the yield on a 6-month Treasury bill is 3.50%, and the yield on a 20-year Treasury bond is 5.50%. The required return on the stock market is 11.50%, but the market has had an average annual return of 14.50% during the past 5 years. The firm's tax rate is 40%. -What is the best estimate of the firm's WACC?

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.

Norris Enterprises, an all-equity firm, 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?

Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

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.

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.