market beta, Financial Management

Assignment Help:
The management of Nelson plc wish to estimate their firm’s equity beta. Nelson has had a stock market quotation for only two months and the financial management feels that it would be inappropriate to estimate beta from the actual share price behavior over such a short period. Instead it is proposed to ascertain, and where necessary adjust, the observed equity betas of other companies operating in the same industry, and with the same operating characteristics as Nelson, as these should be based on similar levels of systematic risk and be capable of providing an accurate estimate of Nelson’s beta

Three companies have been identified as firms having operations in the same industry as Nelson with identical operating characteristics. However, only one company, Oak plc, operates exclusively in the same industry as Nelson. The other two companies have some dissimilar activities or opportunities in additional to those which are the same as those of Nelson.

Details of the three companies are as follows;

a. Oak plc has an observed equity beta of 1.12. The capital structure at market value is 60% equity, 40% debt.

b. Beech plc has an observed equity beta of 1.11. It is estimated that 30% of the current market value of Beech is caused by risky growth opportunities which have an estimated beta of 1.9. The growth opportunities are reflected in the observed beta. Beech’s other activities are the same as Nelson’s. Beech is financed entirely by equity.


c. Pine plc has an observed equity beta of 1.14. Pine has two divisions, East and West. East’s operating characteristics are considered to be identical to those of Nelson. The operating characteristics of West are considered to be 50% more risky than those of East. In terms of financial valuation East is estimated as being twice as valuable as west. The capital structure of Pine at market values is 75% equity, 25% debt.

Nelson is financed by equity. The tax rate is 40%.

Required

a. Assuming all debt is virtually risk-free, make three estimate of the equity beta of Nelson plc. The three estimates should be based, separately, on the information provided for Oak, Beech and Pine.

b. Explain why the estimated beta of Nelson, when eventually determined from observed share price movements, may differ from the value derived from the approach in (a) above.

c. State the reason why a company has a very volatile share price and is generally considered to be extremely risky can have a lower beta value, and therefore lower financial risk, than an equally geared firm whose share price is much less volatile.

Related Discussions:- market beta

The selling process, The Selling Process The four key elements that con...

The Selling Process The four key elements that constitute the selling process are: (i) identification of prospective buyers, (ii) selection of the type of selling process to be

Calculate the variance of the dollar value of your property, Assume that yo...

Assume that you hold a piece of land in the City of London that you may wish to sell in one year. Like a U.S. resident, we are concerned along with the dollar value of the land. Su

Importance of the cost of capital, Q. Importance of the cost of capital? ...

Q. Importance of the cost of capital? 1. Evaluating financial performance: the actual profitability of the project is compared to the projected overall cost of capital and th

Walter''s dividend model, explain the assumptions underlying Walter''s divi...

explain the assumptions underlying Walter''s dividend model?

Credit spreads and the valuation of non-treasury securities, It is not easy...

It is not easy to determine the theoretical value of non-treasury securities. However, we can use the treasury spot rate for the valuation of non-treasury security.

INTEREST, Mr. X invests Rs. 10000 at 10% p.a compounded semi-annually. Comp...

Mr. X invests Rs. 10000 at 10% p.a compounded semi-annually. Compute value after three years.

Financial Analysis Management, I need this in the next 24 hours urgently. I...

I need this in the next 24 hours urgently. If you can accept this, you must be meeting the deadline with strictly no delays or full payment refund is needed

Show maximum opportunity cost, Q. Show Maximum opportunity cost? If Mar...

Q. Show Maximum opportunity cost? If Marton hedges all its awaited dollar income over the next year at US$1.55: £l this will make guaranteed (ignoring other sources of risk) st

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd