Assignment 1: Financial Research Report
Due Week 9 and worth 300 points
Imagine that you are a financial manager researching investments for your client. Use the Strayer Learning Resource Center to research the stock of any U.S. publicly
TRADED COMPANY that you may consider as an investment opportunity for your client. Your investment should align with your client’s investment goals. (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
Refer to the following resources to assist with completing your assignment:
Stock Selection
Forbes – “Six Rules to Follow When Picking Stocks”
CNN Money – “Stocks: Investing in stocks”
The Motley Fool – “13 Steps to Investing Foolishly”
Seeking Alpha – “The Graham And Dodd Method For Valuing Stocks”
Investopedia – “Guide to Stock-Picking Strategies”
Seeking Alpha – “Get Your Smart Beta Here! Dividend Growth Stocks As ‘Strategic Beta’ Investments”
Market and Company Information
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission – “Market Structure”
Yahoo! Finance
Mergent Online (Note: This resource is also available through the Strayer Learning Resource Center.)
Seeking Alpha (Note: Also available through the Android or iTunes App store.)
Morningstar (Note: You can create a no-cost Basic Access account.)
Research Hub, located in the left menu of your course in Blackboard.
Write a ten to fifteen (10-15) page paper in which you:
Provide a rationale for the stock that you selected, indicating the significant economic, financial, and other factors that led you to consider this stock.
Suggest the primary reasons why the selected stock is a suitable investment for your client. Include a description of your client’s profile.
Select any five (5) financial ratios that you have learned about in the text. Analyze the past three (3) years of the selected financial ratios for the company; you
may obtain this information 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.)
Based on your financial review, determine the risk level of the stock from your investor’s point of view. Indicate key strategies that you may use in order to minimize
these perceived risks.
Provide your recommendations of this stock as an investment opportunity. Support your rationale with resources, such as peer-reviewed articles, material from the
Strayer Learning Resource Center, and reviews by market analysts.
Use at least five (5) quality academic resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and other similar websites do 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.
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 stock that you selected, indicating the significant economic, financial, and other factors that led you to consider this stock.
Weight: 15%
Did not submit or incompletely provided a rationale for the stock that you selected, indicating the significant economic, financial, and other factors that led you to
consider this stock.
Partially provided a rationale for the stock that you selected, indicating the significant economic, financial, and other factors that led you to consider this stock.
Satisfactorily provided a rationale for the stock that you selected, indicating the significant economic, financial, and other factors that led you to consider this
stock.
Thoroughly provided a rationale for the stock that you selected, indicating the significant economic, financial, and other factors that led you to consider this stock.
2. Suggest the primary reasons why the selected stock is a suitable investment for your client. Include a description of your client’s profile.
Weight: 15%
Did not submit or incompletely suggested the primary reasons why the selected stock is a suitable investment for your client. Did not submit or incompletely included a
description of your client’s profile.
Partially suggested the primary reasons why the selected stock is a suitable investment for your client. Partially included a description of your client’s profile..
Satisfactorily suggested the primary reasons why the selected stock is a suitable investment for your client. Satisfactorily included a description of your client’s
profile.
Thoroughly suggested the primary reasons why the selected stock is a suitable investment for your client. Thoroughly included a description of your client’s profile.
3. Select any five (5) financial ratios that you have learned about in the text. Analyze the past three (3) years of the selected financial ratios for the company; you
may obtain this information 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 selected financial ratios for the company; you may obtain this information 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 selected financial ratios
for the company; you may obtain this information 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 selected
financial ratios for the company; you may obtain this information 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 selected financial
ratios for the company; you may obtain this information 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 stock 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 stock 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 stock 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 stock 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 stock 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, material from the
Strayer Learning Resource Center, and reviews by market analysts.
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, material from the Strayer Learning Resource Center, and reviews by market analysts.
Partially provided your recommendations of this stock as an investment opportunity. Partially supported your rationale with resources, such as peer-reviewed articles,
material from the Strayer Learning Resource Center, and reviews by market analysts.
Satisfactorily provided your recommendations of this stock as an investment opportunity. Satisfactorily supported your rationale with resources, such as peer-reviewed
articles, material from the Strayer Learning Resource Center, and reviews by market analysts.
Thoroughly provided your recommendations of this stock as an investment opportunity. Thoroughly supported your rationale with resources, such as peer-reviewed
articles, material from the Strayer Learning Resource Center, and reviews by market analysts.
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
