Question 1

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.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 2

Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

Accepted Answer

A)   A change in a company's target capital structure cannot affect its WACC.
B)   WACC calculations should be based on the before-tax costs of all the individual capital components.
C)   Flotation costs associated with issuing new common stock normally reduce the WACC.
D)   If a company's tax rate increases, then, all else equal, its weighted average cost of capital will decline.
E)   An increase in the risk-free rate will normally lower the marginal costs of both debt and equity financing.F) A) and B)
G) D) and E)

Question 3

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.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 4

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.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 5

The reason why retained 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 pay those earnings out to its investors. Thus, the cost of retained earnings is based on the opportunity cost principle.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 6

Daves Inc. recently hired you as a consultant to estimate the company's WACC. 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 equity, and it does not expect to issue any new common stock. What is its WACC?

Accepted Answer

A)   7.16%
B)   7.54%
C)   7.93%
D)   8.35%
E)   8.79%F) A) and E)
G) B) and E)

Question 7

Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

Accepted Answer

A)   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.
B)   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.
C)   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.
D)   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.
E)   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.F) C) and D)
G) A) and C)

Question 8

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?

Accepted Answer

A)   7.07%
B)   7.36%
C)   7.67%
D)   7.98%
E)   8.29%F) B) and C)
G) None of the above

Question 9

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, be
Cost of equity = rs(0.30)(0.50) + rps(1 - T)(0.70)(0.50).

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 10

A)  Butcher Timber Company hired your consulting firm to help them estimate the cost of equity. The yield on the firm's bonds is 8.75%, and your firm's economists believe that the cost of equity 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 equity from retained earnings?

Accepted Answer

A)   12.60%
B)   13.10%
C)   13.63%
D)   14.17%
E)   14.74%F) B) and D)
G) C) and E)

Question 11

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.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 12

You were hired as a consultant to Giambono Company, whose 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 retained earnings is 12.75%. The firm will not be issuing any new stock. What is its WACC?

Accepted Answer

A)   8.98%
B)   9.26%
C)   9.54%
D)   9.83%
E)   10.12%F) All of the above
G) B) and D)

Question 13

Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

Accepted Answer

A)   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.
B)   A cost should be assigned to retained 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 paid out rather than retained and reinvested.
C)   No cost should be assigned to retained 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."
D)   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.
E)   If a firm has enough retained 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.F) C) and D)
G) B) and D)

Question 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.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 15

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.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 16

Bolster Foods' (BF)  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 balance sheet also shows that 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, and then find the sum of these three WACCs.

Accepted Answer

A)   28.36%
B)   29.54%
C)   30.77%
D)   32.00%
E)   33.28%F) A) and D)
G) None of the above

Question 17

Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

Accepted Answer

A)   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.
B)   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.
C)   The cost of new equity (re)  could possibly be lower than the cost of retained earnings (rs)  if the market risk premium, risk-free rate, and the company's beta all decline by a sufficiently large amount.
D)   Its cost of retained earnings is the rate of return stockholders require on a firm's common stock.
E)   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.F) A) and E)
G) C) and D)

Question 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.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 19

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: rRF = 4.10%; RPM = 5.25%; and b = 1.30. Based on the CAPM approach, what is the cost of equity from retained earnings?

Accepted Answer

A)   9.67%
B)   9.97%
C)   10.28%
D)   10.60%
E)   10.93%F) D) and E)
G) B) and E)

Question 20

Keys Printing 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?

Accepted Answer

A)   0.57%
B)   0.63%
C)   0.70%
D)   0.77%
E)   0.85%F) A) and E)
G) C) and D)

Exam 10: Cost of Capital

Correct Answer
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Correct Answer
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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.

Correct Answer
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Correct Answer
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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.

Correct Answer
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Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

Correct Answer
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Correct Answer
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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: rRF = 4.10%; RPM = 5.25%; and b = 1.30. Based on the CAPM approach, what is the cost of equity from retained earnings?

Correct Answer
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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.

Correct Answer
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Correct Answer
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Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

Correct Answer
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Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
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Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

Correct Answer
verified

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.

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

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.

Correct Answer
verified

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.

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Exam 10: Cost of Capital

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

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.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

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.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

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: rRF = 4.10%; RPM = 5.25%; and b = 1.30. Based on the CAPM approach, what is the cost of equity from retained earnings?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

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.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

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.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

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.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

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.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

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