Purpose: Analyze significant financial ratios to evaluate the liquidity, solvency, asset management and profitability of a company.

Questions $1-5$ should be completed in the Excel template Download Excel template.

$1.$ Choose a publicly traded Company that is preferably Canadian or originally founded in Canada that you are interested in$.$ Please consult sedar.comLinks to an external site. and confirm that your Company is publicly traded. I will accept other Companies but would like you to consider analyzing a Canadian Company. I also will not accept a financial institution, telecom company or airline as the company$$s size and complexity may make it more difficult to analyze.

Choose a publicly traded Company that is considered a competitor to this company OR if you can obtain Industry Data comparisons for the most recent year.

Please post to the Discussions Board and await approval from Instructor. Please note that NO two groups can have the same Company. This is on a first$-$come, first$-$served basis.

$2.$ Calculate the following ratios from each of the following categories for the two MOST recent ANNUAL fiscal year$-$end periods. TOTAL: Should be $7$ ratios.

Liquidity $-$ Current Ratio

Asset Management $-$ Total Asset Turnover & another ratio from this category.

Long$-$Term Solvency $-$ include Debt to Equity Ratio and another ratio of your choice from this category.

Profitability $-$ use Profit Margin and Return On Equity.

$3.$ Calculate the SAME selected ratios in Step $2$ for the Competitor for the most recent year ONLY.

$4.$Provide ratios in a table format comparing the following:

Evaluate the firm in the four categories of ratios over two years. Indicate if the trend for each ratio is favourable or unfavourable over time.

Compare the most recent year$-$end ratios with those of your Competitor and indicate whether the Company is performing better or worse than its competitor.

$5.$ Calculate ROE using the DuPont Identity for BOTH years. Identify and explain the key source causing the change in ROE over the two years. Which ratio $($or area of performance$)$ measured within the Dupont Identity should the Company focus on improving? Provide a specific recommendation on how they can improve that ratio.