Sample Questions
Sample Questions
– Vanguard Total Equity Fund with an expected annual return of 10% before a 0.3% annual
expense fee.
– Super Stock Selector Fund with an expected annual return of 11% before a 2.2% annual
expense fee.
What is the difference in Prof. Finance’s expected future retirement savings between the two
funds?
(1) Treat each cost separately, calculate PV’s separately and them add them up
year 1: year 2:
FV: 90,000 FV: 95,000
N: 25 N: 26
I/Y(or r): 8 I/Y(or r): 8
PMT: 0 PMT: 0
=> PV = 13,141.61 => PV = 12,844.17
(2) Alternatively, translate year 2’s cost as of year 1, and year 2’s cost to year 1’s cost, then
discount the combined cost as of year 1.
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N: 25
PMT: 0
3. The current required rate of return on a bond issued by Who with a par value $1,000 is 11
percent. “Who” has a bond issue outstanding that pays interest semiannually, is selling for
$845 and matures in 8 years. What is the coupon rate on the outstanding bond?
4. What is the yield to maturity of a RJR bond with 10 years to maturity, a par value of $1,000
and a coupon of 15%? The current price of this bond is $1,109. Assume interest is paid
annually.
5. WXAM has an outstanding bond issue with a coupon rate of 6 1/8 %, a par value of $1,000.
The yield to maturity on this bond is 7 5/8%. What is the market price of this bond if it pays
interest semi-annually and has 12 years to maturity?
6. Krustyburger has $1,000 par value bonds outstanding that make annual coupon payments.
These bonds have an 7% annual coupon rate and 20 years left to maturity. What’s the most
that each of the following investors will be willing to pay for a Krustyburger bond given their
required return? N = 20 PMT = 70, FV = 1,000
Recall from previous Krustyburger example, the 20-year, 7% annual coupon bond has the
following values at r = 5%, 7%, & 9%. Let’s compare with a 2-yr, 7% annual coupon bond.
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7. Recall from previous Krustyburger example, the 20-year, 7% annual coupon bond has the
following values at r = 5%. PV = $1,249.24. What is bond value one year later when N= 19 if r
is still = 5%? PV = 1,241
8. A Duff’s Beer $1000 par value bond with an annual coupon rate of 6% pays coupons
semiannually with 15 years left to maturity. What is the most you would be willing to pay for
this bond if your required return is 7.4% APR?
9. Eastern Electric currently pays a dividend of about $1.64 per share and sells for $27 a share.
a. If investors believe the growth rate of dividends is 3% per year, what rate of
return do they expect to earn on the stock?
c. If the sustainable growth rate is 5 percent, and the plowback ratio is 0.4, what
must be the rate of return earned by the firm on its new investments?
0.05/0.4 = 12.5%
10. Here are data on 2 stocks, both of which have discount rates of 15%.
Stock A Stock B
Return on equity 15% 10%
Earning per share $2.00 $1.50
Dividends per share $1.00 $1.00
a. What are the dividend payout ratios for each firm? ½ = 0.5, 1/1.5 =
0.667
b. What are the expected dividend growth rates for each firm?
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11. Fincorp will pay a year-end dividend of $2.4 per share, which is expected to grow at a 4 %
rate for the indefinite future. The discount rate is 12 percent.
b. If earnings are $3.10 a share, what is the implied value of the firm’s growth
opportunities?
12. Tattletale News Corp. has been growing at a rate of 20 % per year, and you expect this
growth rate in earnings and dividends to continue for another 3 years.
a. If the last dividend paid was $2, what will the next dividend be? 2*1.2 = $2.4
b. If the discount rate is 15% and the steady growth rate after 3 years is 4 percent,
what should the stock price be today?
13. Here are the cash flow forecasts for two mutually exclusive projects.
CF, 2nd, CE/C, CF0 = -100, enter(see that ‘=’ sign) , down arrow, C01=30, enter, down
arrow, F01= leave it for now, down arrow, C02 = 50, enter, down arrow, F02 = leave
it, down arrow, C03 = 70, then you can use up arrows to check if your inputs are
correct.
Then press NPV, I = 2, enter, down arrow, compute => NPV(A) = 43.43
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Don’t forget that your PV is actually (+)! Even though you have a (-) in your
calculator.
43.43
41.31
17.69
16.47
2 12 20.13 22.05
Calculate crossover rate.(crossover rate:= the rate that equates the NPV of 2 projects, i.e. the
rate where the two NPV profiles cross)
CF, 2nd, CE/C, CF0 = 0 , down arrow, C01=19, enter, down arrow, F01= leave it for
now, down arrow, C02 = -1, enter, down arrow, F02 = leave it, down arrow, C03 = -21,
press IRR, compute => crossover rate = 7.8
14. You are a manager with an investment budget of $8 million. You may invest in the
a. Why might these projects have different discount rates? Less risky, lower rates
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b. Which should the manager choose?
Project C0 C1 C2 C3
A -36 20 20 20
B -50 25 25 25
a. Which project has the higher NPV if the discount rate is 10 percent?
NPV(A) = 13.74
NPV(B) = 12.17
c. Which project is most attractive to a firm that can raise an unlimited amount of funds to
pay for its investment projects? Both
Which project is most attractive to a firm that is limited in the funds it can raise?A
Year CF
0 +$100
1 -60
2 -60
b. If the discount rate is 12%, should you accept the project? No, since NPV = -1.403
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17. A firm can lease a truck for 4 years at a cost of $30,000 annually. It can instead buy a
truck at a cost $80,000, with annual maintenance expenses of $10,000. The truck will be sold
at the end of 4 years for $20,000. Which is the better option if the discount rate is 10%?
Buy: NPV = - 80,000 - 31,698.65 + 13,660.27 = -98,038.38
Lease: NPV = - 95,095.96 => lease is cheaper
Two projects being considered are mutually exclusive and have the following projected cash
flows:
18. Talia’s Tutus bought a new sewing machine for $40,000 that will be depreciated using the
MACRS(modified accelerated cost recovery system) depreciation schedule for a 5 year
recovery period.
b. If the sewing machine is sold after 3 years for $22,000, what will be the after-tax proceeds
on the sale if the firm’s tax bracket is 35%?
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19. Revenues generated by a new fad product are forecast as follows
Year Revenues
1 $40,000
2 30,000
3 20,000
4 10,000
Thereafter 0
Expenses are expected to be 40% of revenues, and working capital required in each year is
expected to be 20% of revenues in the following year. The product requires an immediate
investment of $45,000 in plant and equipment
b. If the plant and equipment are depreciated over 4 years to a salvage value of zero using
straight line depreciation and the firm’s tax rate is 40%, what are the project cash flows
in each year?
c.
Year Revenues Expenses Working capital Depreciation Cash flow
1 40 16 6 11.25 20.9
2 30 12 4 11.25 17.3
3 20 8 2 11.25 13.7
4 10 4 0 11.25 10.1
20. A drill press costs $30,000 and is expected to have a 10 year life. The drill press will be
depreciated on a straight line basis over 10 years to a zero estimated salvage value. This
machine is expected to reduce the firm’s cash operating costs by $4,500 per year. If the firm
is in the 40% marginal tax bracket, determine the annual net cash flows generated by the drill
press.
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21. Consider the following scenario analysis
Scenario Probability Rate of Return
Stocks Bonds
Recession 0.2 -5% +14%
Normal Economy 0.6 +15% +8%
Boom 0.2 +25% +4%
a. Calculate the expected return and standard deviation for each investment
ER(stock) = -5*0.2 + 15*-.6 + 25*0.2 = -1.0 + 9.0 + 0.5 = 13.0%
V(stock) = (-5-13)2*0.2 + (15-13) 2*0.6 + (25-13) 2*0.2 = 64.8 + 2.4 + 28.8 = 96
SD(stock) = 96 = 9.8%
ER(bond)= 14*0.2 + 8*0.6 + 4*0.2 = 2.8 + 4.8 + 0.8 = 8.4%
V(bond)= (14-8.4) 2*0.2 + (8-8.4) 2*0.6 + (4-8.4) 2 * 0.2 = 10.24
SD(bond)= 10 .24 = 3.2%
b. Which investment would you prefer? Depends on your risk aversion: higher risk
aversion => ( bonds )
22. Use the data in the previous problem and consider a portfolio with weights of 0.6 in stocks
and 0.4 in bonds
b. What is the expected rate of return and standard deviation of the portfolio?
ER(portfolio) = 2.6*0.2 + 12.2*0.6 + 16.6*0.2 = 0.52+7.32+3.32 = 11.16%
V(portfolio) = (2.6-11.16) 2*0.2 + (12.2-11.16) 2*0.6 + (16.6-11.16) 2*0.2
= 14.655 + 0.649 + 5.92 = 21.22
SD(portfolio) = 21 .22 = 4.61 %
c. Would you prefer to invest in the portfolio, in stocks only or in bonds only?
ER SD
Stocks 13% 9.8%
Bonds 8.4% 3.2%
Portfolio 11.16% 4.61%
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23. A share of stock with a beta of 0.75 now sells for $50. Investors expect the stock to pay a
year-end dividend of $2. The T-bill rate is 4 percent, and the market risk premium is 8 %.
If the stock is perceived to be fairly priced today, what must be investors’ expectation of
the price of the stock at the end of the year?
D1 + P1 − P0
r= = > P0 (1 + r ) = D1 + P1 = > P1 = P0 (1 + r ) − D1 = 50 (1 + 0.1) − 2 = $53
P0
24. Reconsider the stock in the preceding problem. Suppose investors actually believe the
stock will sell for $52 at year-end. IS the stock a good buy or bad buy? What will the
investors do? At what point will the stock reach an “equilibrium” at which it again is
perceived as fairly priced?
25. Stock A has a beta of 0.5 and investors expect it to return 5 percent. Stock B has a beta of
1.5 and investor expect it to return 13 percent. Use the CAPM to find the market risk
premium and the expected rate of return on the market.
5= rf + 0.5(rm-rf)
13= rf + 1.5(rm-rf)
=> rf = 1%, rm = 9%
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