Problem: Given the information provided in the table, what is your estimate of the cost of equity for Gibson Flowers?
Risk-free rate of interest 3.5%
Average equity market return 10.5%
Estimated cost of debt 8.0%
Estimated correlation of Gibson with the market 0.726
Estimated standard deviation of Gibson's returns 35%
Estimated standard deviation of the market's returns 20%
Estimated effective U.S. tax rate 35%