Zippy Pasta Corporation (ZPC) has a constant growth rate of 7 percent. The company retains 30 percent of its earnings to fund future growth. ZPC's expected
EPS and k(s) for various capital structures are given below. What is the optimal capital structure for ZPC? Debt/AssetsExpected EPS ($)k(s)
20%2.5015.0%
303.0015.5
403.2516.0
503.7517.0
704.0018.0
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A. B. C. D. E.E
The optimal capital structure maximizes the firm's stock price. When the debt ratio is 20%, expected EPS is $2.50. Given the firm's policy of retaining 30% of earnings, the expected dividend per share D1 is $2.50 x 0.70 = $1.75. The stock price Po is $1.75/(15% - 7%) or $21.88. When the debt ratio is 30%, expected
EPS is $3.00 and expected D1 is $3.00 x 0.70 = $2.10. The stock price Po is $2.10/(15.5% - 7%) =$24.71. Similarly, when the debt ratio is 40%, D1 = $2.275 and
Po = $25.28. When the debt ratio is 50%, D1 = $2.625 and Po = $26.25. When the debt ratio is 70%, D1 = $2.80 and Po = $25.45. The stock price is highest when the debt ratio is 50%.