Capital Structure Analysis for Target Corporation
Unit 5 Assignment
GB 550: Financial Management
Kaysha Covington
Professor Mitchell Miller
May 22, 2018
Abstract
The capital structure decisions for Target Inc. are significant since the profitability of the firm is specifically influenced by this decision. Profit maximization is part of the wealth creation process and wealth maximization can be a lengthy process for financial managers. Profits affect the value of the firm and it is expressed in the value of stock. Cost of capital is how investors evaluate weighted average cost of capital (WACC). Capital structure ratios help investors gauge the level of risk that a company is taking on through financing. While Target
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Target Corporation was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It sells its products through its stores and digital channels, including Target.com, and presently operates 1,826 stores. This report will focus on the capital structure of Target Corporation, discuss Target's most recent short-term and long-term financing decisions, give an analysis of the economic, business, and competitive background in which they operate, discuss Target's international investment and financing opportunities, review Modigliani and Miller’s capital structure theory as it relates to Target Corporation, and finally offer possible outcomes that would optimize Target's financial policy and capital …show more content…
Managers are encouraged to act more in the interest of shareholders and the amount of leverage in the capital structure affects firm profitability (Ebaid, 2009).
References
Ebaid, I. E.-S. (2009). The impact of capital-structure choice on firm performance: empirical evidence from Egypt. The Journal of Risk Finance, 10(5), 477–487. http://doi.org/10.1108/15265940911001385
Gill, A., Biger, N., & Mathur, N. (2011). The effect of capital structure on profitability: Evidence from the United States. International Journal of Management, 28(4), 3.
Kumar, R., & Bodla, B. S. (2014). A Study of the Determinants of Capital Structure Choice. BVIMR Management Edge, 7(2), 79-93.
Sajjad, F., & Zakaria, M. (2018). Credit Rating as a Mechanism for Capital Structure Optimization: Empirical Evidence from Panel Data Analysis. International Journal of Financial Studies, 6(1), 1. doi:10.3390/ijfs6010013
Appendix
Key Ratios
The WACC is basically computed by the sum of multiplying the costs per component to its respective proportional weight (how much that company uses a certain cost of capital) [See Appendix 1]. As financial management is focused on the maximization of the stock price, an optimal structure of costs based on these three factors is needed.
Target has many competitors in the market, and the level of competition is highly intense. Some of its main rivals are Wal-Mart stores, Home Depot and Costco Wholesale Corp. All of them produce similar products as well as offer almost the same services to their consumers. Naturally, the organization would need a strategy that helps it to stand out and to distinguish it from its competitors, thus, Target 's positioning was based on more than just pricing; it combined quality and style. This was the differentiation strategy that have always been applied since the launch of the organization.
For the most part, Target Corporation’s performance is positive and has been consistently growing in sales. The company has increased its stock value through additional sales resulting from a deliberate
With a growth strategy based on increasing sales, expanding operating profit margins and growing store base Dollar General has seen the desired growth success. Throughout this growth, Dollar General has been committed to their relatively simple business model: providing a broad base of customers with their basic everyday and household needs, supplemented with a variety of general merchandise items, at everyday low prices in conveniently located small-box stores. This commitment has proven growth but there are many risks associated with investing, as stated in the
Moody's Investors Service downgraded the retailer's long-term rating on debt to A2 from A1. The credit-rating company said the cut is due to Target's plan to use debt to help finance its $10 billion stock buyback. The company’s buyback represents more than 20 percent of outstanding shares and is expected to be completed within three years. The CEO believes the new program will maintain strong investment-grade debt ratings within a prudent range while allowing for substantial value to be returned to shareholders (www.investors.target.com). Moody's also called Target's free cash flow "thin," given the discount retailer's sizable capital spending for store expansion and its growing credit card operations (www.Marketwatch.com). The contribution from the company's credit card operations to third quarter earnings before taxes, net of the allocated interest expense, was $157 million, an increase of $23 million, or 17.1 percent, from the same period in 2006.
This report will be based on the Target Corporation, and will consist of two sections: 1) long-term financing policy and capital structure, and 2) an acquisition analysis. The first section will include: Target's most recent long-term financing decision; an analysis of the economic, business, and competitive background in which the financing occurred; Target's book value and market value; possible changes that would occur to Target's finance policy and capital structure if it was forced to consider re-organization and bankruptcy strategies; and finally discuss Target's international investment and financing opportunities, as well as foreign exchange risks.
1. The Discount Department Store. Target prefers to be called as the latter instead of just department store. Expect more, pay less. With this tagline, the customers expect to purchase more items and pay the least amount possible. Not like other retail industries like its competitor Kmart and Wal-Mart, Target maintains retail value in terms of product offerings. They are known in their designer’s items in clothes, exclusive beauty products, categorized and functional goods, and seasonal offerings. It also sells the greatest number of gift cards among its rival business.
Target Corporation is the biggest discount retailing business in the US which comes just after Wal-Mart Stores Inc. The headquarters are located in Minneapolis in Minnesota in the USA. George Dayton founded it. It initially started as a family business with a regional retailer shop and later grew into a national full retailer store. The company’s main aim is to offer retail services at friendly rates and, its main attracting feature is discount rates offed on different products in the business. The company has indicated tremendous growth in the retail business. It has a target to outgrow its market and achieve competitive advantage over its competitors. This essay seeks to discuss the competitive analysis and
Target bank is called the Target National Bank. It is owned by the Target Corporations itself and all the receivables go into Target has approximately 1,600 million dollars worth of lines of credits from twenty five different banks, approximately half the worth of the line is used and is due back for payment June 2005, with an extension all the way up to June 2006. The other half of the payment is due June 2008. The expected long term rate of securities rate for October 31 2004 was 8.5 %.
The main one is the established and loved brand name that is well liked by customers. Along with this, Target has the perception of being a fun place to shop that comes with an experience. Unlike Wal-Mart, Target has the ability to position themselves as a middle class, hip and more fashionable store to shoppers of this generation (Target Corporation SWOT Analysis, n.d.). Target’s weaknesses include tis business model based on supercenters and other big box stores which make it more difficult for them to reach shoppers who appreciate the smaller convenient stores. Along with this, they have been unable to change their business model to adapting times (Target Corporation SWOT Analysis, n.d.).
In contrast , the shareholder theory organisations or organisation's decision-makers only have the responsibility to their shareholders by increasing the organisation profits and should only make the decisions to increase as much as possib...
Target Corporation being a retail industry, the structure by product grouped to a functional level practices works the best. This is necessary for the other functional levels to collaborate as a single team to produce a positive customer shopping experience. Target Corporation further divided the functional level into a geographic area to exercise management tasks effectively with the given authority. Each structure of the management at the geographic level has a strategy discussion, a line of communication, growth, and progress reporting according to the corporate reporting plan. Jana Potts who manages Target Corporation store has closer to 300, 000 employees working for her and the effective can be improved if the role is broken within domestic into channels, stores into broader segments and a separate global position. The rapidly growing online channel and global expansion are necessary to support Target Corporation's strategy of internal growth and sustain it for long term sustainability. These structural changes will allow Target Corporation to connect with its employee at a functional level and bring changes faster, track and monitor the
The final model used to compute the cost of capital was the earning capitalization model. The problem with this model is that it does not take into consideration the growth of the company. Therefore we chose to reject this calculation. The earnings capitalization model calculations were found this way:
The capital structure of a firm is the way in which it decides to finance its operations from various funds, comprising debt, such as bonds and outstanding loans, and equity, including stock and retained earnings. In the long term, firms seek to find the optimal debt-equity ratio. This essay will explore the advantages and disadvantages of different capital structure mixes, and consider whether this has any relevance to firm value in theory and in reality.
a. 1. What sources of capital should be included when you estimate Harry Davis’s weighted average cost of capital (WACC)?