Research Analyst Report - Fall 2012

Due Date: October 25th at 4:00PM in Finance Department and through SafeAssign on Blackboard
Length: No more than 8 pages + Appendix which includes a basic DCF and Multiples Valuation

Your paper should include each of the following sections:

1) Brief Company Overview (Front Page)- Provide a brief overview of the company which could include: Market Capitalization
Area of Operations (Example: US, Canada and Mexico) Primary Line of Business Customers (Example: High-End Consumers or Industrial Manufacturers)
Business Model (High Volume - Low Margin like Walmart or Low Volume - High Price like Gucci or Nordstrom)

2) Chart or table summary of Merits and Risks (Front Page) 3) Industry Overview – Provide an explanation of the industry in which your company operates. Who are the leading companies in the industry? Is the industry dominated by a few company or is there strong competition?
How is your company positioned in the industry?
Industry Trends that affect your company

4) Detailed Company Analysis – Include items such as sales, income, and margin trends. Capital Structure (% of Long-Term Debt as a percentage of total Capitalization) Discuss any new products or new business strategies being used by the company. Include sales growth rate. Is there anything on the horizon for this company that might cause the stock to go up or down? Ex. Catalysts.

5) Investment Risks– Discussion of negative factors to consider when investing in the company
6) Investment Merits – Discussion of positive factors to consider when investing in the company

7) Valuation – Provide the value per shares from your DCF model along with the major assumptions you made in the model (the WACC, risk-free rate, company beta, method for projecting sales, terminal growth rate, etc.) Also provide valuation based on multiples valuation approach.

8) Recommendation – Recommend a Buy, Hold or Sell with a 1 year price target. Can include a short discussion of reasoning.

9) Include DCF Model and Multiples Valuations printouts as appendix