Which of the following statements is CORRECT?

a. The dividend growth model is generally preferred by academics and financial executives over other models for estimating the cost of equity. This is because of the dividend growth model's logical appeal and also because accurate estimates for its key inputs, the dividend yield and the growth rate, are easy to obtain.

b. Although some methods used to estimate the cost of equity are subject to severe limitations, the CAPM is a simple, straightforward, and reliable model that consistently produces accurate cost of equity estimates. In particular, academics and corporate finance people generally agree that its key inputsbeta, the risk-free rate, and the market risk premiumcan be estimated with little error.

c. Surveys indicate that the CAPM is the most widely used method for estimating the cost of equity. However, other methods are also used because CAPM estimates may be subject to error, and people like to use different methods as checks on one another. If all of the methods produce similar results, this increases the decision maker's confidence in the estimated cost of equity.

d. The dividend growth model model is preferred by academics and finance practitioners over other cost of capital models because it correctly recognizes that the expected return on a stock consists of a dividend yield plus an expected capital gains yield.

e. The bond-yield-plus-risk-premium approach to estimating the cost of equity may not always be accurate, but it has the advantage that its two key inputs, the firm's own cost of debt and its risk premium, can be found by using standardized and objective procedures.