1. Fama’s Llamas has a weighted average cost of capital of 10 percent. The company’s cost of equity is 14 percent, and its pretax cost of debt is 8 percent. The tax rate is 38 percent. What is the company’s target debt−equity ratio?
2. Suppose Stark Ltd. just issued a dividend of $1.85 per share on its common stock. The company paid dividends of $1.50, $1.59, $1.66, and $1.77 per share in the last four years. If the stock currently sells for $45, what is your best estimate of the company’s cost of equity capital using the arithmetic average growth rate in dividends? What if you use the geometric average growth rate?