Description

Corporate Finance

Case Study Paper Guidelines

1.      Company Profile (brief history, current chief officers, major business activity, and type of industry).

2.      Calculate the company’s debt management ratios for the last 3 financial periods, i.e., 2017, 2018, and 2019:

a.       Debt Ratio: measures the percentage of funds provide by creditors, calculated as:

Total Debt ÷ Total Assets; or (Total Assets – Total Equity) ÷ Total Assets

b.      Debt-Equity Ratio: measures the degree to which a company is financing its operations through debt vs equity:

                                          Total Debt ÷ Total Equity

c. Times Interest Earned: measures the ability of the firm to meet its interest payments: Earnings before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ Interest Charges

3. Calculate the company’s liquidity ratios for the last 3 financial periods, i.e., 2017, 2018, and 2019:

a. Current Ratio: indicates the extent to which current liabilities are covered by assets, calculated as:

Current Assets ÷ Current Liabilities

b. Quick Ratio: indicates firm’s ability to pay off its current liabilities without relying on inventories:  (Current Assets – Inventories) ÷ Current Liabilities

4. Calculate the company’s profitability ratios for the last 3 financial periods, i.e., 2017, 2018, and 2019:

a.       Net Profit Margin on Sales or Revenue: measures net income per dollar of sales, calculated as:

Net Income ÷ Sales or Revenue

b.      Return on Total Assets (ROA): measures the overall return on investment:

Net Income ÷ Total Assets 

c. Return on Common Equity (ROE): measures the rate of return on common stock: Net Income ÷ Total Equity  

5.      Give an explanation for each of the ratios you calculated, i.e. what might have caused the ratios to rise or fall.

6.      Based on the ratio results, analyze how your company’s performance compared to its closest competitor. 

7.      Give a brief analysis about the firm’s Capital Structure.

8.      Give a brief analysis about the firm’s Net Working Capital.

9.      Give a brief overview on the company’s stock performance during this academic semester.

10.  As a finance student, what is your personal opinion about the overall financial position of the company?

Please Note:

1.      The company must be a public company (i.e., trading on the NYSE).

2.      To get well summarized financial statements for the company you have selected, go to money.cnn.com or yahoo.com/finance and look up the company in the “Quote” search bar. 

3.      For good comparison and analysis purposes, the financial ratios must be calculated for the most recent 3 recent financial periods, i.e., 2017, 2018, and 2019.

4.      The paper should be in APA style with a minimum of ten (10) pages (excluding attachments).

5.      A copy of the company’s Financial Statements (Balance Sheet and Income Statement) used should be attached.

Case Study Grading Scale

Student’s Name: ___________________________________________________

*To maximize your scored points, please make sure that you follow the Case Study guideline and the format provided in the sample Case Study paper–posted  Online under the “Course Projects” folder.