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WACC The following table gives Foust Company\'s earnings per share for the last

ID: 2724285 • Letter: W

Question

WACC The following table gives Foust Company's earnings per share for the last 10 years. The common stock, 6.3 million shares outstanding, is now (1/1/15) selling for $76 per share. The expected dividend at the end of the current year (12/31/15) is 65% of the 2014 EPS. Because investors expect past trends to continue, g may be based on the historical earnings growth rate. (Note that 9 years of growth are reflected in the 10 years of data.)

The current interest rate on new debt is 12%; Foust's marginal tax rate is 40%; and its target capital structure is 50% debt and 50% equity.

Calculate Foust's after-tax cost of debt. Round your answer to two decimal places.

Calculate Foust's cost of common equity. Calculate the cost of equity as rs = D1/P0 + g. Round your answer to two decimal places.

Find Foust's WACC. Round your answer to two decimal places.

Year EPS Year EPS 2005 $3.90 2010 $5.73 2006 4.21 2011 6.19 2007 4.55 2012 6.68 2008 4.91 2013 7.22 2009 5.31 2014 7.8

Explanation / Answer

1

Calculation of Foust's after-tax cost of debt:

Formula :

After-tax cost of debt = Interest rate * (1-tax)

= 12% * (1-40%) =

7.20%

2

Calculation of Foust's cost of common equity:

Growth rate base on 10 years EPS data :

EPS for 2014 =

7.8

EPS for 2005 =

3.9

Growth rate   = (7.8 / 3.9)^(1/10) -1 =

7.18%

Cost of Common Equity = (Expected Dividend / Current Stock Price)+ growth rate

Expected dividend = 65% of the 2014 EPS = 7.8*65% =

$ 5.07

Cost of Common Equity = (5.07/76) +7.18% =

13.85%

3

Calculation of WACC:

Formula:

WACC = (Cost of Equity * weight of equity ) + (Cost of Debt * weight of debt)

= (13.85% *50%) + (7.18% *50%)

10.52%

1

Calculation of Foust's after-tax cost of debt:

Formula :

After-tax cost of debt = Interest rate * (1-tax)

= 12% * (1-40%) =

7.20%

2

Calculation of Foust's cost of common equity:

Growth rate base on 10 years EPS data :

EPS for 2014 =

7.8

EPS for 2005 =

3.9

Growth rate   = (7.8 / 3.9)^(1/10) -1 =

7.18%

Cost of Common Equity = (Expected Dividend / Current Stock Price)+ growth rate

Expected dividend = 65% of the 2014 EPS = 7.8*65% =

$ 5.07

Cost of Common Equity = (5.07/76) +7.18% =

13.85%

3

Calculation of WACC:

Formula:

WACC = (Cost of Equity * weight of equity ) + (Cost of Debt * weight of debt)

= (13.85% *50%) + (7.18% *50%)

10.52%