Working Capital Management, 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:- Working Capital Management

Economics, a) Define monetary policy, and discuss the operation of monetary...

a) Define monetary policy, and discuss the operation of monetary policy in the United States post-GFC.

Coupon curve duration, Market price is used for determining the dura...

Market price is used for determining the duration of a mortgage-backed security in the coupon curve duration. This approach to calculate the duration of mortgage-bac

Swing traders, Swing Traders Swing trading is more or less similar to d...

Swing Traders Swing trading is more or less similar to day trading except that swing traders will normally have a longer holding period during a working day. Swing traders also

What is accelerated depreciation, Q. What is Accelerated Depreciation? ...

Q. What is Accelerated Depreciation? Accelerated Depreciation - Method which records greater DEPRECIATION than STRAIGHT-LINE DEPRECIATION in the early years and less depreciati

Common-size statement value, A firm has sales of $6,500, net income of $500...

A firm has sales of $6,500, net income of $500, total assets of $12,000, and total equity of $700. Interest expense is $1000. What will be the common-size statement value of the in

What are the benefits of the jit inventory control system, What are the ben...

What are the benefits of the JIT inventory control system? The just-in-time (JIT) inventory control system lesser inventory carrying costs and tends to increase quality.

FDD , fimnancial accounting system

fimnancial accounting system

Financial ratio , Ratio Calculation:   A 'Financial Ratio' is an ind...

Ratio Calculation:   A 'Financial Ratio' is an index that relates two accounting numbers and is obtained by dividing one number by the other. Various Ratios are - 1. L

PROFIT MAXIMIZATION, what are the arguments in favour of profit maximizat...

what are the arguments in favour of profit maximization?

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