Analyst Report – 100 points
(This assignment is to be completed individually)
OBJECTIVE: The objective of this assignment is to have you learn to interpret data from an annual report. You will use data from the annual report from your assigned company to make observations about the company’s financial and managerial performance and recommendations about whether or not to purchase stock in this company. Each of the five parts of this assignment will be evaluated on the criteria outlined below.
LeBow Focus:
Economics: Note industry/market sector performance on economic growth and GDP.
Problem Solving: Use analytical thinking skills to evaluate company performance and
and the evaluative data necessary to make investment decisions
Career Planning: Explore some of the tasks and responsibilities for a career in investments and/or portfolio planning.
Writing: Writing specific to business, such as Executive Summary and business article summaries.
Part 1: Executive Summary – 20 % of your total grade
GOAL: For this section of the assignment you will have to succinctly summarize important information included in the entire annual report to provide the reader with a quick overview of the contents. An executive summary in business usually does not exceed one page. It is important to learn how to process a lot of information, weed through it, and determine which pieces of that information are should be included in a summary. For example, what is the company mission? How has this company’s financial performance been over the year outlined in the annual report? Has the company shown improvement in any areas over that year? Have there been any new products/services over that year? How is the company preparing for the future?
Part 2: Company Profile – 10 % of your total grade
GOAL: For this section of the assignment you will have to locate pertinent company information contained in the annual report. Bullet pointing this information is appropriate for your report.
*Ticker symbol
*Mission Statement as it is printed in the Annual Report
*Corporate headquarters location
*Name of CEO
*Name of CFO
*Stock classifications (common, preferred, both?)
*Exchange (eg: NYSE, Nasdaq)
Part 3: Projections – 20% of your total grade
GOAL: For this section of the assignment you will have to research past performance of your company and identify any trends that can help determine future performance.
*You will have to track stock performance (stock prices) for the 2 most recent 12 month periods. Graphing your information is appropriate for this report. Be sure to properly label your graphs.
Part 4: Current Events – 25% of your total grade
GOAL: For this section of the assignment you will have to use business periodicals, online sources, and the annual report to start to understand the relationship between significant internal corporate events/external global events and company financial performance.
*You will have to locate two articles about current events directly or indirectly affecting the company. (Current is anything within the last 12 months). You will have to submit a copy of each article used. You can submit either an online version or the original article. You will then have to write why you chose this article to exemplify an event that might have an impact on company performance. See if you can find a relationship between changes in stock price (from Part 3) and these current events.
Part 5: Recommendation – 25% of your total grade
GOAL: For this section of the assignment you will have to use your compiled data to justify an “educated guess” on investment suggestions. You will have to determine either “buy” or “don’t buy” and back up your suggestion with strong financial reasoning.
*You will have to identify strategies used for your analysis. Use three ratios to help you make your decisions. Explain what ratios you used and specify what information your choices provided. For example, did you use the Current Ratio? If so, why? What information did the Current Ratio provide that helped you determine the viability of investing in this company?
Overall Professional Presentation
The instructor will deduct up to 10 points for poor presentation, including, but not limited to: spelling, grammar, format, consistency, and proofreading.