Perpetual preferred stock from Franklin Inc. sells for $97.50 per share, and it pays an $8.50 annual dividend. If the company were to sell a new preferred issue, it would incur a flotation cost of 4.00% of the price paid by investors. What is the company's cost of preferred stock for use in calculating the WACC?

a. 10.22%

b. 9.08%

c. 9.44%

d. 8.72%

e. 9.82%