Merriwether Building Has Operating Income of $20 Million,a Tax Rate

question 29

Multiple Choice

Merriwether Building has operating income of $20 million,a tax rate of 40%,and no debt.It pays out all of its net income as dividends and has a zero growth rate.The current stock price is $40 per share,and it has 2.5 million shares of stock outstanding.If it moves to a capital structure that has 40% debt and 60% equity (based on market values) ,its investment bankers believe its weighted average cost of capital would be 10%.What would its stock price be if it changes to the new capital structure?

• A) $40
• B) $48
• C) $52
• D) $54
• E) $60

---

Definitions:

Marginal Cost

The expenditure related to manufacturing one more unit of a product or service.

Average Fixed Cost

The total fixed costs of production divided by the quantity of output produced, showing how fixed costs change with output levels.

Average Variable Cost

The total variable cost divided by the number of units produced, reflecting the variable cost of producing each additional unit.

Total Variable Cost Curve

A graph that shows the relationship between total variable cost and the level of a firm’s output.