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Stock Valuation at Ragan, Inc.

Ragan, Inc., was founded nine years ago by brother and sister Carrington and Genevieve Ragan. The company manufactures and installs commercial heating, ventilation, and cooling (HVAC) units. Ragan, Inc., has experienced rapid growth because of a proprietary technology that increases the energy efficiency of its units. The company is equally owned by Carrington and Genevieve. The original partnership agreement between the siblings gave each 50,000 shares of stock. In the event either wished to sell stock, the shares first had to be offered to the other at a discounted price.

Although neither sibling wants to sell, they have decided they should value their holdings in the company. To get started, they have gathered the information about their main competitors in the table below.

Expert HVAC Corporations negative earnings per share were the result of an accounting write-off last year. Without the write-off, earnings per share for the company would have been $1.10. The ROE for Expert HVAC is based on net income excluding the write-off.

Last year, Ragan, Inc., had an EPS of $3.15 and paid a dividend to Carrington and Genevieve of $45,000 each. The company also had a return on equity of 17 percent. The siblings believe that 14 percent is an appropriate required return for the company.

1.What is the industry average priceearnings ratio? What is the priceearnings ratio for Ragan, Inc.? Is this the relationship you would expect between the two ratios? Why?

Ragan, Inc., Competitors EPS $1.30 1.95 -37 S.96 $ DPS $.16 .23 .14 Stock Price $25.34 29.85 22.13 $25.77 ROE 10.00% 13.00 12.00 11.67% 8.50% Arctic Cooling, Inc. National Heating&Cooling Expert HVAC Corp. Industry Average 10.50 9.59%