Analysis of Financial Performance  -
Each student will choose a publicly-traded dividend-paying firm to analyze. For your firm, you will complete a financial analysis, employing the concepts and tools discussed in Chapter 2 of the text. Complete the following steps for this portion of the project:

Obtain financial information for your firm for at least a 5-10 year time period. This information should include: income statements, balance sheets, cash-flow statements.
Provide a brief history of the firm: You will need to do background reading about the firm in order to gain insight into its performance and behavior. Focus this section on the "who, when, where and what" questions about your firm's history. (5 points)
Complete financial measures of the firm for a multi-year time period (e.g. 5-10 years). This should include all measures described in Chapter 2 concerning the income statement, balance sheet, and cash-flow statements.
Analysis of the financial performance of the firm. Once all financial measures have been determined, an analysis of this information is crucial to understanding how well the firm is performing and its current state of operations. There will be two components to this analysis:
End-Point Analysis: Using the end-point methodology described in the document in the Reference Module of the Content Section of the course, compare the firm's current financial performance to its financial performance in the beginning time frame. Describe, discuss, and analyze the changes the you observe.
Industry Comparison: Obtain current industry data on the various financial measures you have determined for the firm. Compare the performance of the firm to the industry and describe/discuss your results.
Summarize your findings. Based on the financial analysis you have just completed, summarize your findings and draw conclusions about the changes in the financial performance/structure of the firm over time and about the current strengths of its operations.
Part Two:
Determine the WACC for the Firm: (25 points) -
Using the principles and tools developed in Chapters 8, 9, 10, and 12, calculate your 'best' estimate of the Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) for the firm. In order to complete this task, you will need to do the following:
Determine the cost of debt: Please explain the approach and procedure you use to make this determination.
Determine the cost of equity: Please explain the approach and methodology you use in making this determination.
Determine the capital structure of the firm: Determine the market value of the firm's debt and equity.
Explain your result and discuss how the firm will use this WACC.
Part Three:
Determine the Value of Your Firm's Equity: (25 points) -
In Chapter 9, we learned how the Dividend-Discount Model can be used to determine the value of a firm's equity-i.e., the current price of a share of stock. We will use this model to estimate the value of a share of your firm's stock and compare this estimate to the current market value of this firm's stock.
Estimate the firm's stock price using the Dividend-Discount Model:
Use an investment source-e.g., www.yahoofinance.com , www.morningstar.com etc, to find the following information:
current dividend
analyst's estimated growth rate for the next 5 or 10 years
Use your estimate of the cost of equity in the WACC for the rE part of your formula
Combine the above information into the Dividend-Discount Model
Compare your result to the current market price of your firm's stock. Describe, discuss, and analyze how they compare. Based on your knowledge of finance, how would you explain any differences your observe.
Sources and Formatting: (20 points)
Remember to include a properly formatted bibliography page. All direct and paraphrased quotations within your paper are to be properly notated. All sources of information are to be properly identified. (5 points)
As an appendix to your paper, copy and paste the financial statements from which you derived all your ratios, percentages, and any other quantitative data. Do not just provide a link. (5 points)
The paper will be prepared in APA format and is to be double-spaced. Composition is an important part of your paper. Multiple grammar, spelling and/or punctuation errors will decrease your ability to communicate clearly your ideas to your audience. (10 points)