Exam 16: Financial Leverage and Capital Structure Policy

Butter & Jelly reduced its taxes last year by $350 by increasing its interest expense by $1,000. Which of the following terms is used to describe this tax savings?

Which form of financing do firms prefer to use first according to the pecking-order theory?

A firm is technically insolvent when:

Draw the following two graphs, one above the other: In the top graph, plot firm value on the vertical axis and total debt on the horizontal axis. Use this graph to illustrate the value of a firm under M&M without taxes, M&M with taxes, and the static theory of capital structure. On the lower graph, plot the WACC on the vertical axis and the debt-equity ratio on the horizontal axis. Use this second graph to illustrate the value of the firm's WACC under M&M without taxes, M&M with taxes, and the static theory. Briefly explain what the two graphs reveal about firm value and its cost of capital under the three different theories.

Which of the following are correct according to pecking-order theory? I. Firms stockpile internally-generated cash. II. There is an inverse relationship between a firm's profit level and its debt level. III. Firms avoid external debt at all costs. IV. A firm's capital structure is dictated by its need for external financing.

Bankruptcy:

Holly's is currently an all equity firm that has 9,000 shares of stock outstanding at a market price of $42 a share. The firm has decided to leverage its operations by issuing $120,000 of debt at an interest rate of 9.5 percent. This new debt will be used to repurchase shares of the outstanding stock. The restructuring is expected to increase the earnings per share. What is the minimum level of earnings before interest and taxes that the firm is expecting? Ignore taxes.

A firm may file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy: I. in an attempt to gain a competitive advantage. II. using a prepack. III. while allowing the current management to continue running the firm. IV. only after the firm becomes insolvent.

You have computed the break-even point between a levered and an unlevered capital structure. Assume there are no taxes. At the break-even level, the:

Naylor's is an all equity firm with 60,000 shares of stock outstanding at a market price of $50 a share. The company has earnings before interest and taxes of $87,000. Naylor's has decided to issue $750,000 of debt at 7.5 percent. The debt will be used to repurchase shares of the outstanding stock. Currently, you own 500 shares of Naylor's stock. How many shares of Naylor's stock will you continue to own if you unlever this position? Assume you can loan out funds at 7.5 percent interest. Ignore taxes.

The optimal capital structure has been achieved when the:

Which one of the following states that the value of a firm is unrelated to the firm's capital structure?

The optimal capital structure:

The SLG Corp. uses no debt. The weighted average cost of capital is 12 percent. The current market value of the equity is $31 million and the corporate tax rate is 34 percent. What is EBIT?

Exports Unlimited is an unlevered firm with an aftertax net income of $47,800. The unlevered cost of capital is 14.1 percent and the tax rate is 32 percent. What is the value of this firm?

Which one of the following states that a firm's cost of equity capital is directly and proportionally related to the firm's capital structure?

Which one of the following statements is correct concerning the relationship between a levered and an unlevered capital structure? Assume there are no taxes.

L.A. Clothing has expected earnings before interest and taxes of $48,900, an unlevered cost of capital of 14.5 percent, and a tax rate of 34 percent. The company also has $8,000 of debt that carries a 7 percent coupon. The debt is selling at par value. What is the value of this firm?