Exam 10: The Cost of Capital

Firm M's earnings and stock price tend to move up and down with other firms in the S&P 500,while Firm W's earnings and stock price move counter cyclically with M and other S&P companies.Both M and W 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?

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,r_s,than on the interest rate on long-term debt,r_d,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.

Teall Development Company hired you as a consultant to help them estimate its cost of capital.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 equity from retained earnings?

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.

The reason why retained earnings have a cost equal to r_s is because investors think they can (i.e.,expect to)earn r_s on investments with the same risk as the firm's common stock,and if the firm does not think that it can earn r_s on the earnings that it retains,it should pay those earnings out to its investors.Thus,the cost of retained earnings is based on the opportunity cost principle.

The text identifies three methods for estimating the cost of common stock from retained earnings: the CAPM method,the DCF method,and the bond-yield-plus-risk-premium method.However,only the DCF method is widely used in practice.

Assume that you are a consultant to Broske Inc.,and you have been provided with the following data: D₁ = $0.67; P₀ = $27.50; and g = 8.00% (constant).What is the cost of equity from retained earnings based on the DCF approach?

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.

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 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 retained earnings,whose cost is the average return on the assets that are acquired.

Schalheim Sisters Inc.has always paid out all of its earnings as dividends,hence the firm has no retained earnings.This same situation is expected to persist in the future.The company uses the CAPM to calculate its cost of equity,its target capital structure consists of common stock,preferred stock,and debt.Which of the following events would REDUCE its WACC?

Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

Scanlon Inc.'s CFO hired you as a consultant to help her estimate the cost of capital.You have been provided with the following data: r_RF = 4.10%; RP_M = 5.25%; and b = 1.30.Based on the CAPM approach,what is the cost of equity from retained earnings?

Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

The text identifies three methods for estimating the cost of common stock from retained earnings: 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.

Cranberry Corp.has two divisions of equal size: a computer manufacturing division and a data processing division.Its CFO believes that stand-alone data processor companies typically have a WACC of 8%,while stand-alone computer manufacturers typically have a 12% WACC.He also believes that the data processing and manufacturing divisions have the same risk as their typical peers.Consequently,he estimates that the composite,or corporate,WACC is 10%.A consultant has suggested using an 8% hurdle rate for the data processing division and a 12% hurdle rate for the manufacturing division.However,the CFO disagrees,and he has assigned a 10% WACC to all projects in both divisions.Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

The cost of capital used in capital budgeting should reflect the average cost of the various sources of investor-supplied funds a firm uses to acquire assets.