On January 1, 2021, the general ledger of Grand Finale Fireworks includes the following account balances:

Accounts	Debit			Credit
Cash	$	43,000
Accounts Receivable		45,100
Supplies		7,800
Equipment		67,000
Accumulated Depreciation				$	9,300
Accounts Payable					14,900
Common Stock, $1 par value					13,000
Additional Paid-in Capital					83,000
Retained Earnings					42,700
Totals	$	162,900		$	162,900

During January 2021, the following transactions occur:

January		2		Issue an additional 2,200 shares of $1 par value common stock for $44,000.
January		9		Provide services to customers on account, $15,100.
January		10		Purchase additional supplies on account, $5,200.
January		12		Purchase 1,100 shares of treasury stock for $18 per share.
January		15		Pay cash on accounts payable, $16,800.
January		21		Provide services to customers for cash, $49,400.
January		22		Receive cash on accounts receivable, $16,900.
January		29		Declare a cash dividend of $0.40 per share to all shares outstanding on January 29. The dividend is payable on February 15. (Hint: Grand Finale Fireworks had 13,000 shares outstanding on January 1, 2021, and dividends are not paid on treasury stock.)
January		30		Resell 900 shares of treasury stock for $20 per share.
January		31		Pay cash for salaries during January, $42,300.

The following information is available on January 31, 2021.

1. Unpaid utilities for the month of January are $6,500.
2. Supplies at the end of January total $5,400.
3. Depreciation on the equipment for the month of January is calculated using the straightline method. At the time the equipment was purchased, the company estimated a service life of three years and a residual value of $10,300.
4. Accrued income taxes at the end of January are $2,300.

Enter your Return on Equity value to one decimal place and earnings per share value to 2 decimal places.

Analyze the following for Grand Finale Fireworks:
(a) Calculate the return on equity for the month of January. If the average return on equity for the industry for January is 2.60%, is the company more or less profitable than other companies in the same industry?
The return on equity is:		%
Is the company more or less profitable than other companies?
(b) How many shares of common stock are outstanding as of January 31, 2021?
The number of common shares outstanding as of January 31, 2021 is
(c) Calculate earnings per share for the month of January. (Hint: To calculate average shares of common stock outstanding take the beginning shares outstanding plus the ending shares outstanding and divide the total by 2.) If earnings per share was $2.40 last year (i.e., an average of $0.20 per month), is earnings per share for January 2021 better or worse than last years average?
Earnings per share is:
Is earnings per share for January 2021 better or worse than last years average?