COURSE PROJECT PART $2$: ANALYSIS OF PUBLICLY AVAILABLE FINANCIAL INFORMATION $[50$ POINTS$]$

This part will test your knowledge and analysis of Lowe$$s Companies Incorporated Annual Report $($provided separately$)$ for the year ended February $2018.$

PREPARATION OF ANALYSIS RATIOS

Prepare the ratios identified below. Begin with a paragraph that defines$/$describes the ratio, the formula for the ratio, and the purpose of each ratio. $($What would management learn from this ratio?$)$ Then perform the ratio calculation and evaluate its results. In your evaluation, you should review the disclosure notes and any other supplemental information in the annual report to support your explanation$/$evaluation of the results.

REQUIRED

After reviewing the annual report for Lowes, complete the following as instructed above.

Compute the following ratios and provide an analysis of the percentage of change in the ratios between $2016$ and $2018.$ Round to $2$ decimal places or to the nearest whole number of days.

$1.$ Current Ratio

$2.$ Quick Ratio

$3.$ Receivable Turnover

Do these ratios appear to have increased or decreased between $2017$ and $2018?$ What explanation for this change can be determined from the Notes to the Financial Statements or Disclosures $($provide the note and page of the financial statement for reference$).$

Compute the following changes between $2016$ and $2018.$ Round to $2$ decimal places or to the nearest whole number of days.

$4.$ Debt$-$to$-$Equity Ratio

$5.$ Return on Equity

$6.$ Gross Profit Percentage

Given the changes between $2017$ and $2018,$ write a minimum of three paragraphs that describe your conclusions concerning any trends in Lowe$$s profitability during the period in the analysis. Provide support through the information in the annual report in the notes or financial data.