Objectives and the Timeline: The objective of this project is to conduct an in-depth ratio analysis of a firm's performance in last five years and forecast its performance of next year using the forecasted financial statement (FFS) method introduced in chapter 9 of our textbook. You also need to give recommendations on whether investors would buy/hold/sell the stock of this firm based on your analysis. The requirements are: 1. Conduct the ratio analysis of the selected company (40% - 80 points) * 2. Conduct the financial planning of next year for the selected company (30% - 60 points) 3. Given recommendations to investors on this selected company (10% - 20 points) *: Students who submit the initial report receive 20% (40 points) of the final grade of the project automatically. The overall score of the project = 200 = 40 (initial report) + 80 (ratio analysis) + 60 (planning) + 20 (recommendation). Each student is to select an individual company and download the firm/industry level data from Mergent Online. Consolidated version of financial statements can be downloaded from SEC.gov for financial forecasting. Here is a schedule to help you finish the project on time: 1. Initial Report due on 09/21. The report should include the following items: a. What is your selected company? (A US public, non-financial company is required). b. What is the industry category of your target company? Identify companies in the same industry and select a group of companies to be used to calculate the industry average, with justifications. c. Collect raw data of the target company and its competitors, including 5-year financial statements of your target company, 5-year ratios of your target company and of its competitors. d. Propose a detailed outline (table of contents) of your final report. 2. The final report is due on 12/07/2022. Industry Classification: To find companies of the same industry, you can use different industry classification codes (SIC, NAICS, etc.). You will find that different code results in different groups ofcompanies. Please do your own research and choose one code to use in the study with explanations/defense on your choice. Please note that Mergent usually includes 10 competitors in the "Competitor" tab of each company. However, the 10 companies selected are not necessarily a complete nor is it an appropriate set of companies to compute the industry average. If you choose to take those companies listed in the "Competitor" tab as your sample, you bear the burden of justifying each company and that the sample is sufficient. You are suggested to do your own research. Mergent Online Data: Mergent Online is an online data source that provides last 15 years of US company data. Data includes company overview, financial statements, stock information, SEC Reports, news headlines, annual reports, tear sheets, and competitor/industry analysis. Mergent Online is accessible through the website of the library on and off campus. You may use the tutorials of "How to Access Mergent Online" (click here) and "Finding Company Financial Data" (click here) to help with your data search. Other Useful Resources: (a) U.S. Industrial Outlook, (Washington, D.C., U.S. Government Printing Office). (b) Quarterly Financial Report for Manufacturing Companies (U.S. Federal Trade Commission). (C) Industry Norms and Key Business Ratios (Dun & Bradstreet Credit Services) (Also see (1) Cost of Doing Business and (2) Dun's Business Month). (@) Annual Statement Studies (Robert Morris Associates, Philadelphia). (e) Expenses In Retail Business (National Cash Register Co., Dayton). ( D) Almanac of Business and Industrial Financial Ratios (Prentice-Hall). (g) Analysts Handbook (Standard and Poor's Corp.) Fairchild's Financial Manual of Retail Stores (Fairchild Publications, N.Y.). Barometer of Small Business (Acctg. Corp. of America, San Diego). Value Line Investment Survey, 3 Parts, (Value Line Pub.,N.Y.). Standard & Poor's Industry Surveys (Standard & Poor's Corp.). Moody's Manuals (Moody's Investors Service)