Nuttenhall Corporation has a target capital structure of 70 percent common stock, 5 percent preferred stock, and 25 percent debt. Its cost of equity is 14 percent, the cost of preferred stock is 7 percent, and the pretax cost of debt is 7 percent. The relevant tax rate is 22 percent. What is the company's WACC?Note: Do not round intermediate calculations and enter your answer as a percent rounded to 2 decimal places, e.g., 32.16.Blank.xlsx

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BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

We start by restating the data and the target metric clearly, so each component is understood before mixing them together.
- Target capital structure: 70% equity, 5% preferred, 25% debt.
- Costs: cost of equity re = 14%, cost of preferred rp = 7%, pretax cost of debt rd = 7%.
- Tax rate: T = 22%.
- Required measure: WACC = w_e*r_e + w_p*r_p + w_d*r_d*(1 - T).

Next, we apply the formula to each component:
- Equity contribution: 0.70 × 0.14 = 0.098 = 9.80%. This part is not shielded by taxes, so no tax adjustment.
- Preferred contribution: 0.05 × 0.07 = 0.0035 = 0.35%. This also is not tax-advantaged in the WACC formula, so no tax adjustment.
- Debt contribution: (0.25 × 0.07) × (1 − 0.22) = 0.25 × 0.07 × 0.78 = 0.25 × 0.0546 = 0.01365 = 1.365%. Here the tax shield is applied to the debt cost.

Now summing the three components:
- 9.80% (equity) + 0.35% (preferred) + 1.365% (debt after tax) = 11.515%.

Rounding guidance says to report the final answer to two decimal places as a percent. Rounding 11.515% yields 11.52%.

If there is a discrepancy with a provided answer key (for example an expected 11.85%), that would imply a different interpretation or a misprint in the key, since the standard WACC formula above with the given inputs leads to 11.52%.

Key checks:
- Ensure only debt is adjusted for taxes in the WACC sum, since interest is tax-deductible while equity and preferred dividends are not.
- Confirm that the weights sum to 1 (0.70 + 0.05 + 0.25 = 1.00).
- Confirm rounding: two decimals, not intermediate steps.

Summary of the numerical result (based on the standard formula): the WACC is 11.52%.

FIN.256.M016.FALL25.Principles of Finance Final Prep LockDown Browser FIN.256.M016.FALL25.Principles of Finance Final Prep LockDown Browser

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