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 the assignment. You will produce an appendix, in which you will insert related information.)

The assignment covers the following topics:

• Rationale for choosing the company in 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 creat a no-cost Basic Access account.)
• Research Hub, located in the left menu of your course in Blackboard.

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

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.
2. Suggest the primary reasons why the selected stock is a suitable investment for your client. Include 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.)
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.
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.
6. 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 space, using Time 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 containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the professor's name, the course title, and the date. The cover and the reference 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