SHOP is UK based groceries and general merchandise retailer electronic listed on the London Stock Exchange $($LSE$).$ During recent years, SHOP was affected by fuctuations in demand and shocks $10$ supply which led to considerable fuctuations in its profitability. The following lable provides information about SHOP over the six$-$year period.

$\backslash$table$[[$Yoar$,$EPS,$\backslash$table$[[$Market$],[$Capitalisation $($in$],[$million Cs$)]],\backslash$table$[[$Average stock$],[$price $($in Cs$)]]],[2023,2\mathrm{.}40,45\mathrm{.}000,29\mathrm{.}00],[2022,2\mathrm{.}80,31\mathrm{.}000,27\mathrm{.}00],[2021,3\mathrm{.}10,22\mathrm{.}000,25\mathrm{.}00],[2020,2\mathrm{.}09,18\mathrm{.}000,24\mathrm{.}50],[2019,1\mathrm{.}76,13\mathrm{.}000,23\mathrm{.}00],[2018,0\mathrm{.}89,11\mathrm{.}000,22\mathrm{.}50]]$

Use this information to answer the following questions:

a$)$ Comment on the observed trends in the Eamings per Share $($EPS$)$ and the yearly average price. Discuss the implications of the co movement of the two variabies for markel efficiency.

b$)$ Calculate the simple average change in EPS over the period $2018-2023.$

c$)$ Discuss two corporale decisions that affect the number of outstanding shares for a publicly lisied company.

d$)$ Identify and explain the two additional ratios that are relevant for shareholders.

e$)$ Calculate the retum nealised from buying SHOP's share in $2018$ and selling it in $2023.$

f$)$ Calculate and comment on the value of the Price Earnings $($P$/$E$)$ ratio of SHOP for $2023$ if the average industry PIE ratio is $8.$

The forecasting team was asked to forecast SHOP's share price for the year end $2024.$ The team proposed three soenarios as such:

Status quo: next year the share price will be equal to the average share price over the period $2018-2023.$

Worst case scenario: Next year the share price will be $20\%$ lower than the average share price over the period $2018-2023.$

Best case scenario: next year, the share price will double that maximum price recorded over the period $2018-2023.$

g$)$ Forecast SHOP's share price for the year $2024$ based on each of the three scenarios.

h$)$ SHOP is ponsidering issuing bonds to finance its future projects. Name three factors the oompany needs to consider prior to the issuance.

i$)$ Both shareholders and bondholders have economic interest in the growth of a company. However, the two stakeholders' views about the firmis managerment may conflict. Explain this confict, discuss its causes. consequences, and mitigations.

Please round numerical answers to two decimail places

$($Total $38$ marks$)$