Fight Finance

Question 341  Multiples valuation, PE ratio

Estimate Microsoft's (MSFT) share price using a price earnings (PE) multiples approach with the following assumptions and figures only:

• Apple, Google and Microsoft are comparable companies,
• Apple's (AAPL) share price is $526.24 and historical EPS is $40.32.
• Google's (GOOG) share price is $1,215.65 and historical EPS is $36.23.
• Micrsoft's (MSFT) historical earnings per share (EPS) is $2.71.

Source: Google Finance 28 Feb 2014.

(a) $63.15

(b) $61.67

(c) $30.83

(d) $28.25

(e) $8.60

Question 347  PE ratio, Multiples valuation

Which of the following investable assets are NOT suitable for valuation using PE multiples techniques?

(a) Common equity in small private companies.

(b) Common equity in large private companies.

(c) Common equity in listed public companies.

(d) Fixed term bonds of listed public companies.

(e) Real estate.

Question 348  PE ratio, Multiples valuation

Estimate the US bank JP Morgan's share price using a price earnings (PE) multiples approach with the following assumptions and figures only:

• The major US banks JP Morgan Chase (JPM), Citi Group (C) and Wells Fargo (WFC) are comparable companies;
• JP Morgan Chase's historical earnings per share (EPS) is $4.37;
• Citi Group's share price is $50.05 and historical EPS is $4.26;
• Wells Fargo's share price is $48.98 and historical EPS is $3.89.

Note: Figures sourced from Google Finance on 24 March 2014.

(a) $53.2353

(b) $53.1831

(c) $53.0995

(d) $26.5498

(e) $2.7849

Question 354  PE ratio, Multiples valuation

Which firms tend to have low forward-looking price-earnings (PE) ratios?

Only consider firms with positive earnings, disregard firms with negative earnings and therefore negative PE ratios.

(a) Illiquid small private companies.

(b) High growth technology firms.

(c) Firms expected to have temporarily low earnings over the next year, but with higher earnings later.

(d) Firms with a very low level of systematic risk.

(e) Firms whose assets include a very large proportion of cash.

Question 357  PE ratio, Multiples valuation

Which of the following investable assets are NOT suitable for valuation using PE multiples techniques?

(a) Common equity in a listed public mining extraction company that will cease operations, wind up, and return all capital to shareholders in one year when its sole gold mine becomes depleted.

(b) Common equity in a small private owner-operated mining services company whose main asset is its sole tanker truck which delivers fuel to mines. The firm's shares are 100% owned by Bob, the driver of the tanker truck.

(c) Common equity in a large listed public company in the banking industry.

(d) Residential apartment real estate.

(e) Commercial warehouse real estate.

Question 358  PE ratio, Multiples valuation

Estimate the Chinese bank ICBC's share price using a backward-looking price earnings (PE) multiples approach with the following assumptions and figures only. Note that the renminbi (RMB) is the Chinese currency, also known as the yuan (CNY).

• The 4 major Chinese banks ICBC, China Construction Bank (CCB), Bank of China (BOC) and Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) are comparable companies;
• ICBC 's historical earnings per share (EPS) is RMB 0.74;
• CCB's backward-looking PE ratio is 4.59;
• BOC 's backward-looking PE ratio is 4.78;
• ABC's backward-looking PE ratio is also 4.78;

Note: Figures sourced from Google Finance on 25 March 2014. Share prices are from the Shanghai stock exchange.

(a) RMB 6.4595

(b) RMB 6.3739

(c) RMB 6.3311

(d) RMB 3.4903

(e) RMB 3.3966

Question 364  PE ratio, Multiples valuation

Which firms tend to have high forward-looking price-earnings (PE) ratios?

(a) Illiquid small private companies.

(b) Exchange-listed companies operating in stagnant industries with negative growth prospects.

(c) Exchange-listed companies expected to have temporarily high earnings over the next year, but with lower earnings later.

(d) Exchange-listed companies operating in high-risk industries with very high required returns on equity.

(e) Exchange-listed companies whose assets include a very large proportion of cash.

Question 457  PE ratio, Multiples valuation

Which firms tend to have low forward-looking price-earnings (PE) ratios? Only consider firms with positive PE ratios.

(a) Highly liquid publically listed firms.

(b) Firms in a declining industry with very low or negative earnings growth.

(c) Firms expected to have temporarily low earnings over the next year, but with higher earnings later.

(d) Firms whose returns have a very low level of systematic risk.

(e) Firms whose assets include a very large proportion of cash.

Question 463  PE ratio, Multiples valuation

Private equity firms are known to buy medium sized private companies operating in the same industry, merge them together into a larger company, and then sell it off in a public float (initial public offering, IPO).

If medium-sized private companies trade at PE ratios of 5 and larger listed companies trade at PE ratios of 15, what return can be achieved from this strategy?

Assume that:

• The medium-sized companies can be bought, merged and sold in an IPO instantaneously.
• There are no costs of finding, valuing, merging and restructuring the medium sized companies. Also, there is no competition to buy the medium-sized companies from other private equity firms.
• The large merged firm's earnings are the sum of the medium firms' earnings.
• The only reason for the difference in medium and large firm's PE ratios is due to the illiquidity of the medium firms' shares.
• Return is defined as: ##r_{0→1} = (p_1-p_0+c_1)/p_0## , where time zero is just before the merger and time one is just after.

(a) 300%.

(b) 200%

(c) 33.33%

(d) 30%

(e) 20%

Question 537  PE ratio, Multiples valuation, no explanation

Estimate the French bank Societe Generale's share price using a backward-looking price earnings (PE) multiples approach with the following assumptions and figures only. Note that EUR is the euro, the European monetary union's currency.

• The 4 major European banks Credit Agricole (ACA), Deutsche Bank AG (DBK), UniCredit (UCG) and Banco Santander (SAN) are comparable companies to Societe Generale (GLE);
• Societe Generale's (GLE's) historical earnings per share (EPS) is EUR 2.92;
• ACA's backward-looking PE ratio is 16.29 and historical EPS is EUR 0.84;
• DBK's backward-looking PE ratio is 25.01 and historical EPS is EUR 1.26;
• SAN's backward-looking PE ratio is 14.71 and historical EPS is EUR 0.47;
• UCG's backward-looking PE ratio is 15.78 and historical EPS is EUR 0.40;

Note: Figures sourced from Google Finance on 27 March 2015.

(a) EUR 209.6268

(b) EUR 52.4067

(c) EUR 8.6724

(d) EUR 3.9327

(e) EUR 2.1681

Question 547  PE ratio, Multiples valuation, DDM, income and capital returns, no explanation

A firm pays out all of its earnings as dividends. Because of this, the firm has no real growth in earnings, dividends or stock price since there is no re-investment back into the firm to buy new assets and make higher earnings. The dividend discount model is suitable to value this company.

The firm's revenues and costs are expected to increase by inflation in the foreseeable future. The firm has no debt. It operates in the services industry and has few physical assets so there is negligible depreciation expense and negligible net working capital required.

Which of the following statements about this firm's PE ratio is NOT correct? The PE ratio should:

(a) Equal the inverse of the firm's nominal income return.

(b) Equal the inverse of the firm's real total return.

(c) Equal the inverse of the firm's real capital return.

(d) Equal the expected payback period of an investor who intends to buy the firm's equity at the current price.

(e) Be lower than that of faster growing firms that pay lower dividends and re-invest in themselves.

Note: The inverse of x is 1/x.

Question 749  Multiples valuation, PE ratio, price to revenue ratio, price to book ratio, NPV

A real estate agent says that the price of a house in Sydney Australia is approximately equal to the gross weekly rent times 1000.

What type of valuation method is the real estate agent using?

(a) Price to EBITDA multiple.

(b) Price to book multiple.

(c) Price to earnings multiple.

(d) Price to revenue multiple.

(e) Discounted cash flow (DCF).

Question 750  PE ratio, Multiples valuation

Itau Unibanco is a major listed bank in Brazil with a market capitalisation of equity equal to BRL 85.744 billion, EPS of BRL 3.96 and 2.97 billion shares on issue.

Banco Bradesco is another major bank with total earnings of BRL 8.77 billion and 2.52 billion shares on issue.

Estimate Banco Bradesco's current share price using a price-earnings multiples approach assuming that Itau Unibanco is a comparable firm.

Note that BRL is the Brazilian Real, their currency. Figures sourced from Google Finance on the market close of the BVMF on 24 July 2015.

(a) BRL 28.87

(b) BRL 25.372

(c) BRL 22.1

(d) BRL 21.653

(e) BRL 21.528

Question 989  PE ratio, Multiples valuation, leverage, accounting ratio

A firm has 20 million stocks, earnings (or net income) of $100 million per annum and a 60% debt-to-equity ratio where both the debt and asset values are market values rather than book values. Similar firms have a PE ratio of 12.

Which of the below statements is NOT correct based on a PE multiples valuation?

(a) The EPS is $5.

(b) The market capitalisation of equity is $1.2 billion.

(c) The share price is $60.

(d) The market capitalisation of debt is $0.72 billion.

(e) The debt-to-assets ratio is 40%.

Question 990  Multiples valuation, EV to EBITDA ratio, enterprise value

A firm has:

2 million shares;

$200 million EBITDA expected over the next year;

$100 million in cash (not included in EV);

1/3 market debt-to-assets ratio is (market assets = EV + cash);

4% pa expected dividend yield over the next year, paid annually with the next dividend expected in one year;

2% pa expected dividend growth rate;

40% expected payout ratio over the next year;

10 times EV/EBITDA ratio.

30% corporate tax rate.

The stock can be valued using the EV/EBITDA multiple, dividend discount model, Gordon growth model or PE multiple. Which of the below statements is NOT correct based on an EV/EBITDA multiple valuation?

(a) The Enterprise Value (EV) is $2 billion and the asset value is $2.1 billion.

(b) The market capitalisation of equity is $1.4 billion and the stock price is $700.

(c) Gross debt is $0.7 billion and net debt is $0.6 billion (net of cash).

(d) Next year’s expected dividend per share is $28.

(e) The forward looking PE ratio is 15.

Question 1030  Multiples valuation, no explanation

Read these quotes from Adir Shiffman's 26 July 2021 article in the AFR 'Roll up, roll up and make a mint off Amazon sellers'.

"Amazon sellers outsource their warehousing and logistics to the tech giant in a model known as “fulfilled by Amazon”, or FBA. Joining FBA provides access to one of the world’s largest global warehousing operations and even a fleet of Boeing 747 cargo jets. Just as significantly, FBA sellers can much more easily qualify for Amazon’s Prime program, which guarantees free and fast shipping to members."

"Companies want to acquire and integrate a selection, or in business parlance, do a 'roll-up'."

"More than 100 companies are now racing to roll-up FBA sellers, and almost all have launched since 2017. At least a dozen of these boast war chests of more than $US100 million. The largest, Thrasio, was founded in 2018 and has raised more than $US1.7 billion. Thrasio targets businesses with high quality and differentiated products that generate $US1 to $US100 million in revenue annually" (Shiffman, 2021).

If Thrasio's total funds available to spend on the roll up is $1.7 billion, and it's buying targets at price-to-revenue multiples of 2, what's the largest number of firms with $50 million of annual revenue that it could buy?

(a) 17,000

(b) 1,700

(c) 170

(d) 17

(e) 1.7

Question 1031  Multiples valuation

Investment bank Canaccord's Think Childcare (TNK) initiation of coverage states: "What's the Differentiator? TNK are operators, not consolidators - Other listed childcare companies have led highly successful consolidation strategies involving multiple arbitrage combined with scale benefits and operating efficiencies. TNK’s focus is on operating the centres to the best of their individual potentials..." (Canaccord, 2016). Multiples arbitrage involves:

(a) Buying existing childcare centres at higher PE ratios than TNK's.

(b) Buying existing childcare centres at lower PE ratios than TNK's.

(c) Negotiating cheaper garden and building maintenance contracts on a per site basis due to having more sites.

(d) Maximising the occupancy proportion, which is the number of enrolled children divided by the maximum possible number allowed.

(e) Cross-selling additional services in addition to childcare such as piano lessons and speech therapy.

Question 1033  DDM, Multiples valuation, CAPM

Here's an excerpt from an interview between Magellan fund co-founder Hamish Douglass and AFR reporter Vesna Poljak, which appeared in the Australian Financial Review article ‘It's all about interest rates: Hamish Douglass’, 19 July 2019:

Take a business growing at 4 per cent a year, with a cost of equity of 10 per cent based off a 5 per cent risk-free rate and a 5 per cent market risk premium: you would value that at around 16.6 times free cashflow.

Now take a business growing at the same rate, with a 4 per cent risk free rate. At a 9 per cent cost of equity that would command a 20 times multiple, he says.

At a 3 per cent risk-free rate, the cost of equity is 8 per cent, and the multiple is 25.

Finally at 2 per cent – 'which is where the world is at the moment' – the same business would be worth around 33 times free cashflow.

In August 2021, the RBA overnight cash rate and 3 year Australian government treasury bond yield were both 0.1% pa. If this low risk-free yield was expected to persist forever, what approximate equity price-to-cashflow multiple would that imply for a business expected to grow at 4% pa in perpetuity with a 5% equity risk premium?

(a) 91

(b) 50

(c) 33

(d) 25

(e) 20