FIN 534 Optional Assignment

Imagine that you are a financial manager researching investments for your client that align with its investment goals. Use the Internet to research any U.S. publicly traded company that you may consider as an investment opportunity for your client. (Note: Please ensure that you are able to find enough information about this company in order to complete this assignment)

The assignment covers the following topics:

Rationale for choosing the company for which to invest

Ratio analysis

Stock price analysis

Recommendations

Some resources you might want to check for stock selection:

Forbes - http://www.forbes.com/

CNN Money - http://money.cnn.com/pf/money-essentials-stocks/

The Motley Fool - http://www.fool.com/how-to-invest/thirteen-steps/index.aspx

Seeking Alpha - http://seekingalpha.com/article/44626-the-graham-and-dodd-method-for-valuing-stocks http://seekingalpha.com/article/3457406-get-your-smart-beta-here-dividend-growth-stocks-as-strategic-beta-investments

Write a 8-10 page paper in which you:

Provide a rationale for the U.S. publicly traded company that you selected, indicating the significant factors driving your decision as a financial manager.

Determine the profile of the investor for which this company may be a fit, relative to that potential investors investment strategy. Provide support for your rationale.

Select any five (5) financial ratios that you have learned about in the text. Analyze the past three (3) years of the companys financial data, which you may obtain from the companys financial statements. Determine the companys 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 company from your investors 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

Use at least five (5) quality academic resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not qualify as academic resources.