2024 – Assignment 1 Financial Research Report Due Week 10 and Worth 300 points Imagine that you are a financial manager

Assignment 1: Financial Research Report

Due Week 10 and Worth 300 points

 

Imagine that you are a financial manager researching investments for your client that align with its investment goals. Use the Internet or the Strayer Library to research any U.S. publicly traded company that you may consider as an investment opportunity for your client. (Note: Please ensure that you are able to find enough information about this company in order to complete this assignment. You will create an appendix, in which you will insert related information.)

 

The assignment covers the following topics:

• Rationale for choosing the company for which to invest
• Ratio analysis
• Stock price analysis
• Recommendations

 

Write a ten to fifteen (10-15) page paper in which you:

1. Provide a rationale for the U.S. publicly traded company that you selected, indicating the significant factors driving your decision as a financial manager.
2. Determine the profile of the investor for which this company may be a fit, relative to that potential investor’s investment strategy. Provide support for your rationale.
3. Select any five (5) financial ratios that you have learned about in the text. Analyze the past three (3) years of the company’s financial data, which you may obtain from the company’s financial statements. Determine the company’s financial health. (Note: Suggested ratios include, but are not limited to: Liquidity ratios; Asset Management ratios; Debt Management ratios; Profitability Ratios; and Market Value ratios.)
4. Based on your financial review, determine the risk level of the company from your investor’s point of view. Indicate key strategies that you may use in order to minimize these perceived risks.
5. Provide your recommendations of this stock as an investment opportunity. Support your rationale with resources, such as peer-reviewed articles or material from the Strayer Library.
6. Use at least five (5) quality academic resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia, Investopedia and other similar Websites to not qualify as academic resources.

 

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

• Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
• Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

 

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

• Critique financial management strategies that support business operations in various market environments.
• Analyze financial statements for key ratios, cash flow positions, and taxation effects.
• Review fixed income strategies using time value of money concept, bond valuation methods, and interest rate calculations.
• Estimate the risk and return on financial investments.
• Apply financial management options to corporate finance.
• Determine the cost of capital and how to maximize returns.
• Formulate cash flow analysis for capital projects including project risks and returns.
• Evaluate how corporate valuation and forecasting affect financial management.
• Analyze how capital structure decision-making practices impact financial management.
• Design working capital management concepts to enhance tactical financial strategies.
• Use technology and information resources to research issues in financial management.
• Write clearly and concisely about financial management using proper writing mechanics.

 

Grading for this assignment will be based on answer quality, logic / organization of the paper, and language and writing skills, using the following rubric.

Points: 300	Assignment 1: Financial Research Report
Criteria	Unacceptable Below 70% F	Fair 70-79% C	Proficient 80-89% B	Exemplary 90-100% A
1. Provide a rationale for the U.S. publicly traded company that you selected, indicating the significant factors driving your decision as a financial manager. Weight: 15%	Did not submit or incompletely provided a rationale for the U.S. publicly traded company that you selected; did not submit or incompletely indicated the significant factors driving your decision as a financial manager.	Partially provided a rationale for the U.S. publicly traded company that you selected; partially indicated the significant factors driving your decision as a financial manager.	Satisfactorily provided a rationale for the U.S. publicly traded company that you selected; satisfactorily indicated the significant factors driving your decision as a financial manager.	Thoroughly provided a rationale for the U.S. publicly traded company that you selected; thoroughly indicated the significant factors driving your decision as a financial manager.
2. Determine the profile of the investor for which this company may be a fit, relative to that potential investor’s investment strategy. Provide support for your rationale. Weight: 15%	Did not submit or incompletely determined the profile of the investor for which this company may be a fit, relative to that potential investor’s investment strategy. Did not submit or incompletely provided support for your rationale.	Partially determined the profile of the investor for which this company may be a fit, relative to that potential investor’s investment strategy. Partially provided support for your rationale.	Satisfactorily determined the profile of the investor for which this company may be a fit, relative to that potential investor’s investment strategy. Satisfactorily provided support for your rationale.	Thoroughly determined the profile of the investor for which this company may be a fit, relative to that potential investor’s investment strategy. Thoroughly provided support for your rationale.
3. Select any five (5) financial ratios that you have learned about in the text. Analyze the past three (3) years of the company’s financial data, which you may obtain from the company’s financial statements. Determine the company’s financial health. (Note:Suggested ratios include, but are not limited to, current ratio, quick ratio, earnings per share, and price earnings ratio.) Weight: 20%	Did not submit or incompletely selected any five (5) financial ratios that you have learned about in the text. Did not submit or incompletely analyzed the past three (3) years of the company’s financial data, which you may obtain from the company’s financial statements. Did not submit or incompletely determined the company’s financial health.	Partially selected any five (5) financial ratios that you have learned about in the text. Partially analyzed the past three (3) years of the company’s financial data, which you may obtain from the company’s financial statements. Partially determined the company’s financial health.	Satisfactorily selected any five (5) financial ratios that you have learned about in the text. Satisfactorily analyzed the past three (3) years of the company’s financial data, which you may obtain from the company’s financial statements. Satisfactorily determined the company’s financial health.	Thoroughly selected any five (5) financial ratios that you have learned about in the text. Thoroughly analyzed the past three (3) years of the company’s financial data, which you may obtain from the company’s financial statements. Thoroughly determined the company’s financial health.
4. Based on your financial review, determine the risk level of the company from your investor’s point of view. Indicate key strategies that you may use in order to minimize these perceived risks. Weight: 15%	Did not submit or incompletely determined the risk level of the company from your investor’s point of view based on your financial review. Did not submit or incompletely indicated key strategies that you may use in order to minimize these perceived risks.	Partially determined the risk level of the company from your investor’s point of view based on your financial review. Partially indicated key strategies that you may use in order to minimize these perceived risks.	Satisfactorily determined the risk level of the company from your investor’s point of view based on your financial review. Satisfactorily indicated key strategies that you may use in order to minimize these perceived risks.	Thoroughly determined the risk level of the company from your investor’s point of view based on your financial review. Thoroughly indicated key strategies that you may use in order to minimize these perceived risks.
5. Provide your recommendations of this stock as an investment opportunity. Support your rationale with resources, such as peer-reviewed articles or material from the Strayer Library. Weight: 20%	Did not submit or incompletely provided your recommendations of this stock as an investment opportunity. Did not submit or incompletely supported your rationale with resources, such as peer-reviewed articles or material from the Strayer Library.	Partially provided your recommendations of this stock as an investment opportunity. Partially supported your rationale with resources, such as peer-reviewed articles or material from the Strayer Library.	Satisfactorily provided your recommendations of this stock as an investment opportunity. Satisfactorily supported your rationale with resources, such as peer-reviewed articles or material from the Strayer Library.	Thoroughly provided your recommendations of this stock as an investment opportunity. Thoroughly supported your rationale with resources, such as peer-reviewed articles or material from the Strayer Library.
6. 5 references Weight: 5%	No references provided	Does not meet the required number of references; some or all references poor quality choices.	Meets number of required references; all references high quality choices.	Exceeds number of required references; all references high quality choices.
7. Clarity, writing mechanics, and formatting requirements Weight: 10%	More than 6 errors present	5-6 errors present	3-4 errors present	0-2 errors present

 

 

Other Information about the Financial Research Report –

 

1.Work Hard to Avoid Personal Pronouns – The excessive use of personal pronouns is discouraged in business and analytical writing.It is recommended that personal pronouns are avoided altogether, if possible.Please make sure that personal pronouns (e.g., I, we, my, our, etc.) are avoided in paper.It will take some work, but it can be done easily by rearranging the wording of sentences.

 

2. Companies Are Not “They” or “Their” – This is a reminder that a company is not a “they” or “their.” A company is very much an “it.”So, to reference a company, use “it,” the name of the company, or “the company,” or “the organization,” or “the firm,” etc.

 

3.Subheadings – Each section of the paper must begin with a sub-heading. Please use the sub-headings included in the required outline (presented in the next section).

 

4.File Format– The writing assignment report must be submitted in Word file format. It is acceptable to attach exhibits and appendices in Word or Excel format.PowerPoint, pdf, and other file formats are not acceptable and will not be evaluated.

 

5.Cover Page – Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date.

 

6.Source of Useful Information – Please remember that financial statements and other useful information are available from the Mergent Online database that is available to you through the Strayer University Learning Resource Center (online).Please notice that financial ratios are grouped intoappropriate categories (Profitability Ratios, Liquidity Ratios, Debt Management Ratios, and Asset Management Ratios), which makes it easy to set up the ratios and use them in the analysis.

The following information is intended to help you with using the Mergent Online Database available in the Strayer Learning Resource Center:

 

Financial Statements for companies, financial ratios, and Form 10K annual reports can be obtained from the Strayer University “Learning Resource Center,” which is accessible from the Online Classroom (see tab at the top of the screen).

 

Select – Learning Resource Center

Select – Databases

Select – Mergent Online

 

Then, in the block titled “Company Search – Enter Symbol or Company Name” enter the company’s name or its Stock Ticker Symbol (e.g., for Deere & Company, enter DE).Next, select the company from the drop-down menu.

 

For Financial Statements – Select “Company Financials” tab

For Financial Ratios – Select “Company Financials” tab and “Ratios” sub-tab

For Form 10K Annual Reports – Select “Filings” tab (and then select the most recent Annual Form 10K report)