FIN 534 Week 5 Homework Assignment Chapter 9
1. When working with the CAPM, which of the following factors can be determined with the most precision?
a. The beta coefficient, bi, of a relatively safe stock.
b. The most appropriate risk-free rate, rRF.
c. The expected rate of return on the market, rM.
d. The beta coefficient of the market, which is the same as the beta of an average stock.
e. The market risk premium (RPM).
2. Bloom and Co. has no debt or preferred stock¾it uses only equity capital, and has two equally-sized divisions. Division Xs cost of capital is 10.0%, Division Ys cost is 14.0%, and the corporate (composite) WACC is 12.0%. All of Division Xs projects are equally risky, as are all of Division Ys projects. However, the projects of Division X are less risky than those of Division Y. Which of the following projects should the firm accept?
a. A Division Y project with a 12% return.
b. A Division X project with an 11% return.
c. A Division X project with a 9% return.
d. A Division Y project with an 11% return.
e. A Division Y project with a 13% return.
3. Taylor Inc. estimates that its average-risk projects have a WACC of 10%, its below-average risk projects have a WACC of 8%, and its above-average risk projects have a WACC of 12%. Which of the following projects (A, B, and C) should the company accept?
a. Project C, which is of above-average risk and has a return of 11%.
b. Project A, which is of average risk and has a return of 9%.
c. None of the projects should be accepted.
d. All of the projects should be accepted.
e. Project B, which is of below-average risk and has a return of 8.5%.
4. Weatherall Enterprises has no debt or preferred stock¾it is an all-equity firm¾and 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?
a. The project should definitely be rejected because its expected return (before risk adjustment) is less than its required return.
b. Riskier-than-average projects should have their expected returns increased to reflect their higher risk. Clearly, this would make the project acceptable regardless of the amount of the adjustment.
c. The accept/reject decision depends on the firms risk-adjustment policy. If Weatheralls policy is to increase the required return on a riskier-than-average project to 3% over rS, then it should reject the project.
d. Capital budgeting projects should be evaluated solely on the basis of their total risk. Thus, insufficient information has been provided to make the accept/reject decision.
e. The project should definitely be accepted because its expected return (before any risk adjustments) is greater than its required return.
5. The Anderson Company has equal amounts of low-risk, average-risk, and high-risk projects. The firms overall WACC is 12%. The CFO believes that this is the correct WACC for the companys average-risk projects, but that a lower rate should be used for lower-risk projects and a higher rate for higher-risk projects. The CEO disagrees, on the grounds that even though projects have different risks, the WACC used to evaluate each project should be the same because the company obtains capital for all projects from the same sources. If the CEOs position is accepted, what is likely to happen over time?
a. The company will take on too many low-risk projects and reject too many high-risk projects.
b. Things will generally even out over time, and, therefore, the firms risk should remain constant over time.
c. The companys overall WACC should decrease over time because its stock price should be increasing.
d. The CEOs recommendation would maximize the firms intrinsic value.
e. The company will take on too many high-risk projects and reject too many low-risk projects.