You have just been hired as a loan officer at Westmount Bank. Your supervisor has given you a file containing a request from Hill Company, a manufacturer of computer components, for a $$2,000,000$ five$-$year loan. Financial statement data on the company for the past two years are given below:

HILL COMPANY

Comparative Balance Sheet

This Year Last Year

Assets

Current assets:

Cash $ $290,000$ $ $365,000$

Temporary investments $075,000$

Accounts receivable, net $775,000550,000$

Inventory $1,025,000650,000$

Prepaid expenses $50,00035,000$

Total current assets $2,140,0001,675,000$

Plant and equipment, net $2,485,0002,395,000$

Total assets $ $4,625,000$ $ $4,070,000$

Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity

Liabilities:

Current liabilities $ $955,000$ $ $750,000$

Bonds payable, $10\%1,000,000850,000$

Total liabilities $1,955,0001,600,000$

Shareholders' equity:

Preferred shares, $20,000,$ $$2\mathrm{.}40$ no par value $450,000450,000$

Common shares, $50,0001,500,0001,500,000$

Retained earnings $720,000520,000$

Total shareholders equity $2,670,0002,470,000$

Total liabilities and shareholders' equity $ $4,625,000$ $ $4,070,000$

HILL COMPANY

Comparative Income Statement and

Reconciliation of Retained Earnings

This Year Last Year

Sales $($all on account$)$ $ $4,360,000$ $ $3,400,000$

Cost of goods sold $3,270,0002,600,000$

Gross margin $1,090,000800,000$

Selling and administrative expenses $590,000450,000$

Operating income $500,000350,000$

Interest expense $100,00085,000$

Net income before taxes $400,000265,000$

Income taxes $(30\%)120,00079,500$

Net income $280,000185,500$

Dividends paid:

Preferred shares $36,00036,000$

Common shares $44,00024,000$

Total dividends paid $80,00060,000$

Net income retained $200,000125,500$

Retained earnings, beginning of year $520,000394,500$

Retained earnings, end of year $ $720,000$ $ $520,000$

Pat Smith, who just three years ago was appointed president of Hill Company, admits that the company has been inconsistent in its performance over the past several years. But Smith argues that the company has its costs under control and is now experiencing strong sales growth, as evidenced by the more than $25\%$ increase in sales over the past year. Smith also argues that investors have recognized the improving situation at Hill Company, as shown by the jump in the price of its common shares from $$15$ per share last year to $$27$ per share this year. Smith believes that with strong leadership and with the modernized equipment that the $$2,000,000$ loan will permit the company to buy, profits will be even stronger in the future.

Anxious to impress your supervisor, you decide to generate all the information you can about the company. You determine that the following ratios are typical of companies in Hill Company$$s industry:

Current ratio $2\mathrm{.}27$

Acid$-$test ratio $1\mathrm{.}20$

Average collection period $34$ days

Average sale period $64$ days

Return on assets $10\mathrm{.}8\%$

Debt$-$to$-$equity ratio $0\mathrm{.}60$

Times interest earned ratio $6\mathrm{.}4$

Price$-$earnings ratio $8$

Required:

$1.$ You decide to assess the rate of return that the company is generating first.

a$.$ Compute the return on total assets for both this year and last year. $($Total assets at the beginning of last year were $$3,590,000.)($Round your answers to $1$ decimal place.$)$

b$.$ Compute the return on common shareholders$$ equity for both this year and last year. $($Shareholders$$ equity at the beginning of last year totalled $$2,407,000.$ There has been no change in preferred or common shares over the past two years.$)($Round your answers to $1$ decimal place.$)$

c$-1.$ Is the company$$s financial leverage positive or negative?

c$-2.$ This part of the question is not part of your Connect assignment.

$2.$ You decide to assess how well the company is doing from the perspective of the common shareholders next. For both this year and last year, compute

a$.$ The earnings per share. $($Round your answers to $2$ decimal places.$)$

b$.$ The dividend yield ratio for common shares. $($Round your intermediate calculations and final answers to $1$ decimal place.$)$

c$.$ The dividend payout ratio for common shares. $($Round your intermediate calculations and final answers to $1$ decimal place.$)$

d$-1.$ The price$-$earnings ratio. $($Round your intermediate calculations and final answers to $1$ decimal place.$)$

d$-2.$ This part of the question is not part of your Connect assignment.

e$-1.$ The book value per common share. $($Round your answers to $2$ decimal places.$)$

e$-2.$ This part of the question is not part of your Connect assignment.

f$.$ The gross margin percentage. $($Round your answers to $1$ decimal place.$)$

$3.$ You decide, finally, to assess creditor ratios to determine both short$-$te