Chapter 1 - Equity Securities Flashcards
- first of several legislative acts passed by Congress to regulate the securities market.
- requires prospectus and full disclosure filings for all non-exempt new issues of securities (i.e. corporate stock and bond offerings)
- referred to as the “Paper Act”, because of the volume of paperwork it mandates
Securities Act of 1933
- this act created the SEC
- known as the “People Act”, it was passed to establish fair and orderly markets for securities exchanges and trading
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
- this act established self-regulatory organizations (SRO’s) to regulate the over-the-counter (OTC) market
- one well-known SRO is FINRA
Maloney Act of 1938
- created with the passing of the Maloney Act to regulate the OTC market
- these entities write the rules and regulations to enforce the securities laws written by the SEC
- broker/dealers are required to join one of these entities to be permitted to charge commissions and mark-ups
- broker/dealers and their associated persons must follow rules to remain in one of these entities. Member firms and associated persons can be sanctioned for noncompliance
Self-Regulatory Organizations
- a financial instrument that trades for value based on the expectation of profit from the efforts of third-party management
- must be easily transferable between parties and its owner must be subject to the risk of loss of a portion of or the entire principal
- issued in two primary forms: stocks and bonds
Security
- buyers become owners of the corporation
- this type of stock is called the junior security because it is the last to be paid if the corporation is liquidated through bankruptcy
Common Stock
- this financial statement summarizes a company’s assets, liabilities, and shareholders’ equity at a specific point in time
- allows the investors to see what the company owns and owes, and the amount invested by the shareholders
- assets are on the left side, liabilities are on the right
- the items are listed (top to bottom) from most-to-least current
Balance Sheet
- companies commonly assign a par value to stock at issue
- however, when no-par stock is issued, this term is the value assigned to the no-par stock on the corporation’s balance sheet
Stated Value
- a financial statement that shows a company’s performance over a specific accounting period (i.e. fiscal year)
- also known as a profit and loss statement
- allows investors and managers to see whether the business made or lost money during the reported period
Income Statement
- compares operating income to sales
- this is an indication of management’s ability to generate income from operating the business
- trends in this statistic are directly tied to management decisions
- the formula is:
= [( Sales - Cost of Goods Sold - Selling/General/Administrative Costs) / Sales ]
Operating Margin
- compares net income to sales
- useful tool for analyzing a company’s profitability over time and allows for comparisons with competitors and the industry in general
- the formula is:
= Net Income (after tax) / Sales
Net Profit Margin
- measures the entity’s liquidity or solvency
- a positive number indicates that the company has sufficient current assets to pay current debts
- a negative number indicates that a company is insolvent
- the formula is:
= Current Assets - Current Liabilities
Working Capital
- another liquidity measure that gauges the entity’s ability to pay current liabilities
- a number greater than 1 means the company can pay its current obligations with current assets
- a number less than 1 means that the company has insufficient current assets to meet current liabilities
- the formula is:
= Current Assets / Current Liabilities
Current Ratio
- this is a strict measurement of the entity’s ability to pay its short-term obligations because it considers only cash and cash equivalents
- inventory is subtracted from other current assets
- the formula is:
= [ (Current Assets - Inventory) / Current Liabilities ]
Quick (Acid Test) Ratio
- this ratio measures the portion of total capitalization that is common stockholders’ equity
- **creditor’s standpoint - high ratio is good because it indicates that the company is not highly leveraged, or deeply in debt
- some may view this negatively because the company is too conservative to maximize profitability
- the formula is:
= [ (Par Value of Common + Retained Earnings + Paid-In Capital) / Total Long-Term Capitalization ]
- Total Long-Term Capitalization = Stockholders’ Equity + Bonds
Common Stock Ratio
- this is the opposite of the stock ratio
- measures the portion of total capitalization which is in long-term debt, or leverage
- a lower ratio indicates that the entity uses less leverage which means it operates more conservatively
- a ratio exceeding 30-40% is concerning
- the formula is:
= Par Value of Bonds / Total Long-Term Capitalization
Bond Ratio
- measures the portion of earnings available to common stockholders after the preferred stock has received its dividend
- the formula is:
= [ (Net Income - Preferred Dividend) / Common Shares Outstanding ]
Earnings per Common Share
- measures the earnings available to common if all convertible securities were converted to common stock
- this measure is strictly theoretical
- the formula is:
= [ (Net Income + Convertible Bond Interest) / (Outstanding Common Shares + Common Shares Resulting from Conversion) ]
Fully Diluted Earnings per Share
- one of the most commonly referenced ratios by analysts
- compares the common stock’s price to its share of earnings this year
- indicates how fairly priced the stock is compared to similar stocks
- the formula is:
= Market Price / Earnings per Share
Price/Earnings Ratio
- measures the generosity of the board of directors by measuring the portion of earnings which the board chooses to distribute to the shares
- the remainder of earnings is kept by the board in retained earnings
- the formula is:
= Annual Dividend / Earnings per Share
Dividend Payout Ratio
- measures the benefit realized by purchasing the stock at current market value
- the formula is:
= Annual Dividend / Market Stock Price
Current Yield
- this figure is actual cash generated by operations, as opposed to net income reportable to the IRS
- this figure adds back “non-cash” deductions to net income
- the formula is:
= Net Income (or Loss) + Current Depreciation + Amortization
Cash Flow
- this ratio measures how quickly inventory is sold
- a higher number indicates faster speed, more efficient management, and lower inventory loss risk
- the formula is:
= Cost of Goods Sold / Average Inventory
Inventory Turnover Ratio
- this ratio measures how much of each revenue dollar is net income
- a higher ratio is better
- the formula is:
= Net Income / Revenue
Profit Ratio
- this ratio measures how easily the entity can pay interest on its outstanding bonds
- a higher number for this ratio is better
- the formula is:
= EBIT / Interest Expense
Interest Coverage Ratio
- this figure is the liquidating value per common stock share
- the formula is:
= [ (Total Shareholder Equity - Preferred Equity) / Total Outstanding Common Shares ]
Book Value per Share
- measures the return which the corporation achieves on common stockholders’ equity
- a higher return indicates better management
- the formula is:
= Net Income After Preferred Dividend / Common Stockholders’ Equity
Return on Common Equity
- comprises a company’s unsold products waiting to be sold, and can include finished products as well as raw materials used to produce the end product
- shown as a current asset on the balance sheet
- key component in calculating Cost of Goods Sold (CoGS) and an important driver of profit, total assets and tax liability
- two main methods of valuing this for a company are: “last-in, first-out” (LIFO) and “first-in, first-out” (FIFO)
– once a method has been chosen it must be used constantly going forward
Inventory
- the gradual reduction of the value of a tangible asset over the useful life of the asset
Depreciation