Coca Cola Harvard Case Study
Michael Barrett
Michael Bacci
Michael Ploch
Bhargavi Bheemanapalli
FIN 6416 Case 1: Valuing Coca Cola stock
Executive Summary The case that has been presented is a valuation of Coca Cola, its current stock price, and whether Coca Cola has the potential to be a good recommendation for clients to add to their portfolios. The analysis herein takes into account historical Coca Cola financial information, and uses the information to ascertain whether or not Coca Cola, at its current stock price of $58.00 a share, is a viable security for investors to add to their portfolios.
Methodologies The completed analysis of Coca Cola’s investment potential required the use of a few calculations to gather enough information regarding the selling price of its stock. The first of these calculations used is the Capital Asset Pricing Model (Exhibit 1). This model was used to calculate the required rate of return for an investor in Coca Cola. In this calculation, Beta was set at 1.24, and the risk free rate was set at the 30-year government bond rate of 6.22%. The market risk premium was set at the stated 6.00% rate, resulting in a required rate of return of 13.66%. Once this required rate of return was calculated, the Dividend Discount Model (Exhibit 2) was used to calculate a forecasted 1997 stock price for Coca Cola. Using the required rate of return of 13.66%, a forecasted dividend of $0.62, and the expected constant dividend growth rate of 12% for this calculation, the model has forecasted a 1997 stock price of $37.35. For this analysis, a P/E ratio calculation (Exhibit 3) was used to estimate the Coca Cola stock price. To calculate this, it was stated that Coca Cola was currently traded at a P/E ratio of 35, forecasted earnings per share for 1997 was stated at $1.70 per share, and the model calculated a stock price of $59.50. Sensitivity analysis has also been completed for these calculations to consider any changes in the numbers used in our methodologies
Michael Bacci
Michael Ploch
Bhargavi Bheemanapalli
FIN 6416 Case 1: Valuing Coca Cola stock
Executive Summary The case that has been presented is a valuation of Coca Cola, its current stock price, and whether Coca Cola has the potential to be a good recommendation for clients to add to their portfolios. The analysis herein takes into account historical Coca Cola financial information, and uses the information to ascertain whether or not Coca Cola, at its current stock price of $58.00 a share, is a viable security for investors to add to their portfolios.
Methodologies The completed analysis of Coca Cola’s investment potential required the use of a few calculations to gather enough information regarding the selling price of its stock. The first of these calculations used is the Capital Asset Pricing Model (Exhibit 1). This model was used to calculate the required rate of return for an investor in Coca Cola. In this calculation, Beta was set at 1.24, and the risk free rate was set at the 30-year government bond rate of 6.22%. The market risk premium was set at the stated 6.00% rate, resulting in a required rate of return of 13.66%. Once this required rate of return was calculated, the Dividend Discount Model (Exhibit 2) was used to calculate a forecasted 1997 stock price for Coca Cola. Using the required rate of return of 13.66%, a forecasted dividend of $0.62, and the expected constant dividend growth rate of 12% for this calculation, the model has forecasted a 1997 stock price of $37.35. For this analysis, a P/E ratio calculation (Exhibit 3) was used to estimate the Coca Cola stock price. To calculate this, it was stated that Coca Cola was currently traded at a P/E ratio of 35, forecasted earnings per share for 1997 was stated at $1.70 per share, and the model calculated a stock price of $59.50. Sensitivity analysis has also been completed for these calculations to consider any changes in the numbers used in our methodologies