Final Project: Financial Company Analysis. The course project will require students to complete a thorough financial analysis of an assigned publicly traded corporation. The project deliverables will be a structured Word document and accompanying Excel spreadsheets. By the beginning of Week 1 students will be given a publicly traded company to research. Project requirements must include the following analyses:a. Corporate Description: it’s products, markets, subsidiaries, and risksb. Balance Sheet and Income Statement Trends for the last three to five years. c. Ratio Trend Analysis: A three-year ratio trend analysis is the minimum expectation. The following ratio categories must be included, with three ratios (minimum) from each category:i. Short-term solvency ratios, also known as liquidity ratiosii. Long-term solvency ratios, also known as financial leverage ratiosiii. Asset management ratios, also known as turnover ratiosiv. Profitability ratiosv. Market value ratios. d. Corporation and Competitor Comparison: Stock Price, PE ratio and earnings per share trend analysis with each compared to their competitors and the market (2-page written text min). A three-year trend analysis minimum. Provide values for your assigned corporation and at least two key market competitors. Provide a written analysis including comparison to the same two key market competitors.e. Capital Structure Assessmenti. (Debt to Equity Ratio) including any significant changes in the firm’s capital structure over the last three to five years. ii. Evaluation of the firm’s current Beta (trend not required). iii. Calculate the weighted average cost of capital (WACC) using both the Security Market Line Approach and the Dividend Growth Model Approach. Compare the WACC for each approach, discussing the advantages and disadvantages of each approach.f. Cash Flow Assessment: Review of the firm’s statement of cash flows for the last three to five years, including an assessment of the firm’s free cash flow over the last three to five years.g. Conclusion with Analysts’ Recommendations:i. Your own closing summary of the firm’s financial health in relation to the overall economy and within its industry.ii. Your own review of current analyst recommendations as a guide.h. Format and Structure:
WILMINGTON UNIVERSITY6i. Financial analysis Word file is to be a maximum 11 pages in length, not including a cover page and supporting reference appendices.ii. Paper format: APA required.iii. Supporting financial data prepared using Excel. Excel documentation concise, clear, supports narrative and requirements.iv. Students may include additional reference materials such as financial statements, web citations, and citations from research books.v. Students are not to copy and paste financial statements or other materials directly from the web into their analysis (Word) file. vi. Reference page includes all references cited, APA format for references. i.
