(Growth rate in stock dividends and the cost of equity) In March of this past year, Manchester Electric (an electrical supply company operating throughout the southeastern United States and a publicly held company) was evaluating the cost of equity capital for the firm. The firm's shares are selling for $43.07 a share; it expects to pay an annual cash dividend of $4.77 a share next year, and the firm's investors anticipate an annual rate of return of 14%. a. If the firm is expected to provide a constant annual rate of growth in dividends, what rate of growth mast the firm experience? . b. If the risk-free rate of interest is 5% and the market risk premium is 7%, what must the firm's beta be to warrant an expected rate of return 14% on the firm's stock? c. The discounted cash flow method for evaluating a firm's cost of equity financing is based on the assumption that future dividends grow at a constant rate forever. How do you think the cost of equity would be affected if the rate of growth in future dividends were to decline over time