Fight Finance

Question 344  CFFA, capital budgeting

A new company's Firm Free Cash Flow (FFCF, same as CFFA) is forecast in the graph below.

To value the firm's assets, the terminal value needs to be calculated using the perpetuity with growth formula:

###V_{\text{terminal, }t-1} = \dfrac{FFCF_{\text{terminal, }t}}{r-g}###

Which point corresponds to the best time to calculate the terminal value?

(a) Point A.

(b) Point B.

(c) Point C.

(d) Any of the points.

(e) None of the points.

Question 988  variance, covariance, beta, CAPM, risk, no explanation

Price Data Time Series
Sourced from Yahoo Finance Historical Price Data
Date	S&P500 Index (^GSPC)						Apple (AAPL)
	Open	High	Low	Close	Adj close		Open	High	Low	Close	Adj close
2007, Wed 3 Jan	1418	1429	1408	1417	1417		12.33	12.37	11.7	11.97	10.42
2008, Wed 2 Jan	1468	1472	1442	1447	1447		28.47	28.61	27.51	27.83	24.22
2009, Fri 2 Jan	903	935	899	932	932		12.27	13.01	12.17	12.96	11.28
2010, Mon 4 Jan	1117	1134	1117	1133	1133		30.49	30.64	30.34	30.57	26.6
Source: Yahoo Finance.

 

Which of the following statements about the above table which is used to calculate Apple's equity beta is NOT correct?

(a) Adjusted closing prices add back dividends and reverse the effect of stock splits.

(b) Apple's effective annual total return between the market close on 2 January 2008 and 2 January 2009 was -0.534269 (=(24.22-11.28)/24.22).

(c) Sample variance of the S&P500's effective annual total returns over the 3 year period was 0.084452.

(d) Sample covariance of effective total annual returns between Apple and the S&P500 index over the 3 year period was 0.041131.

(e) Apple's equity beta of annual total returns over the 3 year period was 3.530767.

Question 1006  CAPM, beta, leverage, WACC, real estate

Four retail business people compete in the same city. They are all exactly the same except that they have different ways of funding or leasing the shop real estate needed to run their retail business.

The two main assets that retail stores need are:

• Inventory typically worth $1 million which has a beta of 2, and;
• Shopfront real estate worth $1 million which has a beta of 1. Shops can be bought or leased.

Lease contract prices are fixed for the term of the lease and based on expectations of the future state of the economy. When leases end, a new lease contract is negotiated and the lease cost may be higher or lower depending on the state of the economy and demand and supply if the economy is:

• Booming, shop real estate is worth more and lease costs are higher.
• In recession, shop real estate is worth less and lease costs are low.

Assume that the market’s expected return is 10% pa, required returns are expected to remain constant, shop assets can be valued as a perpetuity of lease profits, and that buying, selling, shutting down, moving out, moving in and opening a new shop has negligible (low) cost. Store owners can invest surplus funds in alternative investments that also earn the 10% pa market return.

Which retail business person will have the LOWEST beta of equity (or net wealth)?

(a) Anne owns her shop, funded with equity.

(b) Bob owns his shop, funded with fixed rate debt that matures in 10 years.

(c) Carla leases her shop on a 1 year contract.

(d) Dan leases his shop on a 5 year contract.

(e) All business people have the same equity beta.

Question 223  CFFA, interest tax shield

Which one of the following will increase the Cash Flow From Assets in this year for a tax-paying firm, all else remaining constant?

(a) An increase in net capital spending.

(b) A decrease in the cash flow to creditors.

(c) An increase in interest expense.

(d) An increase in net working capital.

(e) A decrease in dividends paid.

Question 367  CFFA, interest tax shield

There are many ways to calculate a firm's free cash flow (FFCF), also called cash flow from assets (CFFA). Some include the annual interest tax shield in the cash flow and some do not.

Which of the below FFCF formulas include the interest tax shield in the cash flow?

###(1) \quad FFCF=NI + Depr - CapEx -ΔNWC + IntExp### ###(2) \quad FFCF=NI + Depr - CapEx -ΔNWC + IntExp.(1-t_c)### ###(3) \quad FFCF=EBIT.(1-t_c )+ Depr- CapEx -ΔNWC+IntExp.t_c### ###(4) \quad FFCF=EBIT.(1-t_c) + Depr- CapEx -ΔNWC### ###(5) \quad FFCF=EBITDA.(1-t_c )+Depr.t_c- CapEx -ΔNWC+IntExp.t_c### ###(6) \quad FFCF=EBITDA.(1-t_c )+Depr.t_c- CapEx -ΔNWC### ###(7) \quad FFCF=EBIT-Tax + Depr - CapEx -ΔNWC### ###(8) \quad FFCF=EBIT-Tax + Depr - CapEx -ΔNWC-IntExp.t_c### ###(9) \quad FFCF=EBITDA-Tax - CapEx -ΔNWC### ###(10) \quad FFCF=EBITDA-Tax - CapEx -ΔNWC-IntExp.t_c###

The formulas for net income (NI also called earnings), EBIT and EBITDA are given below. Assume that depreciation and amortisation are both represented by 'Depr' and that 'FC' represents fixed costs such as rent.

###NI=(Rev - COGS - Depr - FC - IntExp).(1-t_c )### ###EBIT=Rev - COGS - FC-Depr### ###EBITDA=Rev - COGS - FC### ###Tax =(Rev - COGS - Depr - FC - IntExp).t_c= \dfrac{NI.t_c}{1-t_c}###

(a) 1, 3, 5, 7, 9.

(b) 2, 4, 6, 8, 10.

(c) 1, 4, 6, 8, 10.

(d) 2, 3, 5, 7, 9.

(e) 1, 3, 5, 8, 10.

Question 368  interest tax shield, CFFA

A method commonly seen in textbooks for calculating a levered firm's free cash flow (FFCF, or CFFA) is the following:

###\begin{aligned} FFCF &= (Rev - COGS - Depr - FC - IntExp)(1-t_c) + \\ &\space\space\space+ Depr - CapEx -\Delta NWC + IntExp(1-t_c) \\ \end{aligned}###

Does this annual FFCF or the annual interest tax shield?

Question 857  DuPont formula, accounting ratio

The DuPont formula is:

###\dfrac{\text{Net Profit}}{\text{Sales}} \times \dfrac{\text{Sales}}{\text{Total Assets}} \times \dfrac{\text{Total Assets}}{\text{Owners' Equity}}###

Which of the following statements about the DuPont formula is NOT correct?

(a) The DuPont formula gives the book Return on Equity (ROE).

(b) The net profit to sales ratio is called the ‘gross profit margin’.

(c) The sales to total assets ratio is called the ‘total asset turnover’ ratio.

(d) The total assets to owners' equity ratio is called the ‘equity multiplier’.

(e) The equity multiplier and ROE will rise if the firm uses more leverage by replacing equity with debt.

Question 179  bond pricing, capital raising

A firm wishes to raise $20 million now. They will issue 8% pa semi-annual coupon bonds that will mature in 5 years and have a face value of $100 each. Bond yields are 6% pa, given as an APR compounding every 6 months, and the yield curve is flat.

How many bonds should the firm issue?

(a) 140,202

(b) 184,280

(c) 184,460

(d) 186,881

(e) 200,000

Question 566  capital structure, capital raising, rights issue, on market repurchase, dividend, stock split, bonus issue

A company's share price fell by 20% and its number of shares rose by 25%. Assume that there are no taxes, no signalling effects and no transaction costs.

Which one of the following corporate events may have happened?

(a) $1 cash dividend when the pre-announcement stock price was $5.

(b) On-market buy-back of 20% of the company's outstanding stock.

(c) 5 for 4 stock split.

(d) 1 for 5 bonus issue.

(e) 1 for 4 rights issue at a subscription price of $3 when the pre-announcement stock price was $5.

Question 666  rights issue, capital raising

A company conducts a 2 for 3 rights issue at a subscription price of $8 when the pre-announcement stock price was $9. Assume that all investors use their rights to buy those extra shares.

What is the percentage increase in the stock price and the number of shares outstanding? The answers are given in the same order.

(a) -60%,   150%

(b) -42.22%,   150%

(c) -40%,   66.67%

(d) -22.22%,   66.67%

(e) -4.44%,   66.67%

Question 65  annuity with growth, needs refinement

Which of the below formulas gives the present value of an annuity with growth?

(a) ##\dfrac{C_1}{r-g}\left(1-\dfrac{1}{(1+r)^T}\right)##

(b) ##\dfrac{C_1(1+g)^T}{r-g}\left(1-\dfrac{1}{(1+r)^T}\right)##

(c) ##\dfrac{C_1}{r-g}\left(1-\dfrac{1+g}{(1+r)^T}\right)##

(d) ##\dfrac{C_1}{r-g}\left(1-\left(\dfrac{1+g}{1+r}\right)^T \right)##

(e) ##\dfrac{C_1(1+g)}{r-g}\left(1-\dfrac{1}{(1+r)^T}\right)##

Hint: The equation of a perpetuity without growth is: ###V_\text{0, perp without growth} = \frac{C_\text{1}}{r}###

The formula for the present value of an annuity without growth is derived from the formula for a perpetuity without growth.

The idea is than an annuity with T payments from t=1 to T inclusive is equivalent to a perpetuity starting at t=1 with fixed positive cash flows, plus a perpetuity starting T periods later (t=T+1) with fixed negative cash flows. The positive and negative cash flows after time period T cancel each other out, leaving the positive cash flows between t=1 to T, which is the annuity.

###\begin{aligned} V_\text{0, annuity} &= V_\text{0, perp without growth from t=1} - V_\text{0, perp without growth from t=T+1} \\ &= \dfrac{C_\text{1}}{r} - \dfrac{ \left( \dfrac{C_\text{T+1}}{r} \right) }{(1+r)^T} \\ &= \dfrac{C_\text{1}}{r} - \dfrac{ \left( \dfrac{C_\text{1}}{r} \right) }{(1+r)^T} \\ &= \dfrac{C_\text{1}}{r}\left(1 - \dfrac{1}{(1+r)^T}\right) \\ \end{aligned}###

The equation of a perpetuity with growth is:

###V_\text{0, perp with growth} = \dfrac{C_\text{1}}{r-g}###

Question 104  CAPM, payout policy, capital structure, Miller and Modigliani, risk

Assume that there exists a perfect world with no transaction costs, no asymmetric information, no taxes, no agency costs, equal borrowing rates for corporations and individual investors, the ability to short the risk free asset, semi-strong form efficient markets, the CAPM holds, investors are rational and risk-averse and there are no other market frictions.

For a firm operating in this perfect world, which statement(s) are correct?

(i) When a firm changes its capital structure and/or payout policy, share holders' wealth is unaffected.

(ii) When the idiosyncratic risk of a firm's assets increases, share holders do not expect higher returns.

(iii) When the systematic risk of a firm's assets increases, share holders do not expect higher returns.

Select the most correct response:

(a) Only (i) is true.

(b) Only (ii) is true.

(c) Only (iii) is true.

(d) Only (i) and (ii) are true.

(e) All statements (i), (ii) and (iii) are true.

Question 475  payout ratio, dividend, no explanation

The below screenshot of Commonwealth Bank of Australia's (CBA) details were taken from the Google Finance website on 7 Nov 2014. Some information has been deliberately blanked out.

What was CBA's approximate payout ratio over the 2014 financial year?

Note that the firm's interim and final dividends were $1.83 and $2.18 respectively over the 2014 financial year.

(a) 2.48%

(b) 4.85%

(c) 77.00%

(d) 129.93%

(e) 247.53%

Question 380  leverage, capital structure

The "interest expense" on a company's annual income statement is equal to the cash interest payments (but not principal payments) made to debt holders during the year. or ?

Question 801  negative gearing, leverage, capital structure

The following steps outline the process of ‘negative gearing’ an investment property in Australia. Which of these steps or statements is NOT correct? To successfully achieve negative gearing on an investment property:

(a) Buy an investment property with low expected future capital gains and high rental income, funded using a low proportion of debt (mortgage loan).

(b) Rent the investment property to a tenant;

(c) Negative gearing is achieved when the property investment’s annual taxable profit is negative, due to the loan’s interest expense being greater than the net rent (rental revenue less the renting expenses such as maintenance);

(d) Deduct the property’s income loss from the investor’s separate personal wage from labour. This means that the investor will pay less personal income tax than if they didn’t make the levered property investment;

(e) The investment property will be a positive-NPV investment if the capital gains are greater than the income losses on an after-tax, risk-adjusted, present-value basis.

Question 738  financial statement, balance sheet, income statement

Where can a private firm's market value of equity be found? It can be sourced from the company's:

(a) Income statement

(b) Balance sheet

(c) Cash flow statement

(d) Stock exchange data.

(e) It's not published, it can only be estimated using multiples or discounted cash flow methods.

Question 41  DDM, income and capital returns

The following is the Dividend Discount Model (DDM) used to price stocks:

### P_0 = \frac{d_1}{r-g} ###

Assume that the assumptions of the DDM hold and that the time period is measured in years.

Which of the following is equal to the expected dividend in 3 years, ## d_3 ##?

(a) ## d_1(1+g)^3 ##

(b) ## P_3(r-g) ##

(c) ## d_2(1+g)^2 ##

(d) ## P_0(1+g)^3(r-g) ##

(e) ## P_0(1+g)^2(r-g) ##

Question 166  DDM, no explanation

A stock pays annual dividends. It just paid a dividend of $3. The growth rate in the dividend is 4% pa. You estimate that the stock's required return is 10% pa. Both the discount rate and growth rate are given as effective annual rates. Using the dividend discount model, what will be the share price?

(a) 30

(b) 31.16

(c) 31.2

(d) 50

(e) 52

Question 181  DDM

A stock pays annual dividends. It just paid a dividend of $5. The growth rate in the dividend is 1% pa. You estimate that the stock's required return is 8% pa. Both the discount rate and growth rate are given as effective annual rates.

Using the dividend discount model, what will be the share price?

(a) 72.1429

(b) 71.4286

(c) 63.1250

(d) 63.1150

(e) 62.5000

Question 186  DDM, income and capital returns

Here's the Dividend Discount Model, used to price stocks:

### p_0=\frac{d_1}{r-g} ###

All rates are effective annual rates and the cash flows (##d_1##) are received every year. Note that the r and g terms in the above DDM could also be labelled: ###r = r_{\text{total, 0}\rightarrow\text{1yr, eff 1yr}}### ###g = r_{\text{capital, 0}\rightarrow\text{1yr, eff 1yr}}### Which of the following statements is NOT correct?

(a) The expected dividend in 3 years will be: ##d_3 = d_1 (1+g)^2##.

(b) The expected price in 3 years will be: ##p_3 = p_0 (1+g)^3##.

(c) The expected effective 3 year total return measured over 3 years is equal to: ##r_{\text{total, 0}\rightarrow\text{3yr, eff 3yr}} = (1+r)^3-1##.

(d) The expected effective 3 year total return measured over 3 years will be: ##r_{\text{total, 0}\rightarrow\text{3yr, eff 3yr}} = \dfrac{p_3-p_0+d_3}{p_0}##.

(e) The expected effective annual dividend yield will be: ##r_{\text{dividend, 0}\rightarrow\text{3yr, eff annual}} = \dfrac{d_1}{p_0}##.

Question 216  DDM

A stock just paid its annual dividend of $9. The share price is $60. The required return of the stock is 10% pa as an effective annual rate.

What is the implied growth rate of the dividend per year?

(a) -0.8565

(b) -0.0500

(c) -0.0435

(d) 0.0000

(e) 0.1500

Question 331  DDM, income and capital returns

The following equation is the Dividend Discount Model, also known as the 'Gordon Growth Model' or the 'Perpetuity with growth' equation.

### p_0= \frac{c_1}{r-g} ###

Which expression is equal to the expected dividend return?

(a) ##(c_1/p_0 ) -1##

(b) ##(p_1/p_0) -1##

(c) ##(c_5/c_4) -1##

(d) ##c_3/p_2##

(e) ##(p_1-p_0)/p_0##

Question 479  perpetuity with growth, DDM, NPV

Discounted cash flow (DCF) valuation prices assets by finding the present value of the asset's future cash flows. The single cash flow, annuity, and perpetuity equations are very useful for this.

Which of the following equations is the 'perpetuity with growth' equation?

(a) ##V_0=\dfrac{C_t}{(1+r)^t} ##

(b) ##V_0=\dfrac{C_1}{r}.\left(1-\dfrac{1}{(1+r)^T} \right)= \sum\limits_{t=1}^T \left( \dfrac{C_t}{(1+r)^t} \right) ##

(c) ##V_0=\dfrac{C_1}{r-g}.\left(1-\left(\dfrac{1+g}{1+r}\right)^T \right)= \sum\limits_{t=1}^T \left( \dfrac{C_t.(1+g)^t}{(1+r)^t} \right) ##

(d) ##V_0=\dfrac{C_1}{r} = \sum\limits_{t=1}^\infty \left( \dfrac{C_t}{(1+r)^t} \right) ##

(e) ##V_0=\dfrac{C_1}{r-g} = \sum\limits_{t=1}^\infty \left( \dfrac{C_t.(1+g)^t}{(1+r)^t} \right) ##

Question 105  NPV, risk, market efficiency

A person is thinking about borrowing $100 from the bank at 7% pa and investing it in shares with an expected return of 10% pa. One year later the person intends to sell the shares and pay back the loan in full. Both the loan and the shares are fairly priced.

What is the Net Present Value (NPV) of this one year investment? Note that you are asked to find the present value (##V_0##), not the value in one year (##V_1##).

(a) $10

(b) $3

(c) $2.8037

(d) $2.7273

(e) $0

Question 668  buy and hold, market efficiency, idiom

A quote from the famous investor Warren Buffet: "Much success can be attributed to inactivity. Most investors cannot resist the temptation to constantly buy and sell."

Buffet is referring to the buy-and-hold strategy which is to buy and never sell shares. Which of the following is a disadvantage of a buy-and-hold strategy? Assume that share markets are semi-strong form efficient. Which of the following is NOT an advantage of the strict buy-and-hold strategy? A disadvantage of the buy-and-hold strategy is that it reduces:

(a) Capital gains tax.

(b) Explicit transaction costs such as brokerage fees.

(c) Implicit transaction costs such as bid-ask spreads.

(d) Portfolio rebalancing.

(e) Time wasted on researching whether it's better to buy or sell.

Question 810  CAPM, systematic and idiosyncratic risk, market efficiency

Examine the graphs below. Assume that asset A is a single stock. Which of the following statements is NOT correct? Asset A:

(a) Has a beta of 0.5.

(b) Is fairly priced.

(c) Has systematic standard deviation equal to 10% pa.

(d) Has diversifiable standard deviation equal to 20% pa.

(e) Has total standard deviation equal to 40% pa.

Question 813  market efficiency

The famous investor Warren Buffett is one of few portfolio managers who appears to have consistently beaten the market. His company Berkshire Hathaway (BRK) appears to have outperformed the US S&P500 market index, shown in the graph below.

Read the below statements about Warren Buffett and the implications for the Efficient Markets Hypothesis (EMH) theory of Eugene Fama. Assume that the first sentence is true. Analyse the second sentence and select the answer option which is NOT correct. In other words, find the false statement in the second sentence.

(a) Buffett is clever and by reading the news and financial reports he is able to buy under-priced stocks and sell over-priced stocks. This provides evidence for rejecting the semi-strong and strong form EMH.

(b) Buffett was lucky, his strategy happened to be the right one, not due to its merits, just by chance. This provides no evidence for or against the weak, semi-strong or strong form EMH.

(c) Buffett’s investment strategy exposes investors to higher undiversifiable risk than the market and therefore deserves a higher return. This provides no evidence for or against the weak, semi-strong or strong form EMH.

(d) Buffett is an insider trader and is able to make money from his private information. This provides evidence for rejecting the semi-strong and strong form EMH. (Note: Warren Buffett is not an insider trader, he is an honest philanthropist, but assume the contrary in this answer option).

(e) Buffett may not have beaten the market because the graphs ignore dividends - the S&P500 is the price index rather than the accumulation index and BRK pays no dividends, so even though BRK has a higher capital return than the S&P500, the total returns could be equal. This provides no evidence for or against the weak, semi-strong or strong form EMH.