Template for Assessment 3 – Final Report
Delete all information in red italics before submitting the report.
TASK: You are an investment analyst preparing a report for a potential investor – should they buy or not buy shares in a particular listed company? Analyse the listed NZ stock exchange (NZX) company allocated to you in workshops, and write a report, using the template sections to guide you (the PRIMARY company). Some parts will require you to compile and compare information on another listed company in the same industry (the SECONDARY company).
Support your discussion with references to appropriate literature sources. Provide in-text citations and a reference list, using APA 7th edition style The library guide will help you with this, along with videos on APA referencing and paraphrasing in the Assessment tab on Blackboard.
Remember this is an INDIVIDUAL assessment, however you can use the research/information you compiled in your group case studies as a starting point.
Write in the 3rd person (using professional, business-appropriate language)
Title Page (be as creative as you like!)
o Include Student Name and ID, also in header or footer
o Name of primary company investigated (allocated NZX company)
o Date of submission
o Word count: 1,500 words from the beginning of Introduction to end of Conclusions and Recommendations
Table of Contents (use Word to create this – new page required)
Introduction
• Introduce the PRIMARY company being investigated with a brief background
• Introduce the purpose of the report
150 WORDS
Discussion
• Financial Performance
o Outline ROE: the basic ratio used to assess financial performance, and provide an analysis of your PRIMARY company’s performance
Refer to the appendix where you have obtained the ratio, and your graph (The graph can also be shown in the main body of your report)
Provide a comparison with the SECONDARY company allocated
Briefly comment on the trends shown by the ratio, and in the graph
o Make a conclusion about the companies’ financial performance
300 WORDS
• Value
o Outline the CURRENT listed price of BOTH companies (mention the date you obtained the price) – are their current prices high or low, compared to past price performance? (High or low required only, you will elaborate on trends & news in the next section)
o Compare the market value (capitalisation) of BOTH companies to their book value of total equity (also called net assets) using the Market-to-Book ratio
Refer to the appendix where you have obtained the ratio
o Conclude whether the PRIMARY company appears to be “good value” based on its Market-to-Book ratio AND comparison to the ratio of the SECONDARY company
300 words
• Capital Markets and Market Commentary
o Discuss the share PRICE performance of BOTH companies (since IPO or the last 5 years), including a comparison of the PRIMARY and SECONDARY companies’ performance, expanding on your statement of high/low price in the Value section
Refer to the appendix with your share price graph (The graph can also be shown in the main body of your report)
o Detail any events that may have had an impact on the performance of the PRIMARY company (either positive or negative)
o State how this impacts your investment recommendation
o Cite at least 2 news media reports to support your discussion, focused on the PRIMARY company (2 minimum to pass (C grade): cite more news media articles to push for higher grades, over the last 5 years or since IPO)
450 words
• Non-Financial Reporting
o Detail the non-financial information disclosed by the PRIMARY company
o State how this information affects your decision.
150 words
Conclusions & Recommendation
• Make a recommendation to the prospective investor
o You can recommend buying shares, or to not buy shares in the PRIMARY company being investigated
o If you recommend not buying shares in the PRIMARY company, is there enough evidence to warrant the investor to further investigate the SECONDARY company?
o Your recommendation must clearly flow from the discussion and conclusions
150 WORDS
References
• New page required for References
• This title should be centred on the page
• Use APA 7th edition referencing
• The following should be included in your reference list, if cited
o Textbook, for definitions, if required
o NZX.com
o NZX company research database
o Annual report of the company
o Website of the company
o Any newspaper articles used
Examples only
Craig, G., & Scott, A. (Ed.). (2019). BUSS503 Financial Decision Making for AUT University (Custom e-textbook). Sydney, Australia: Wiley. Custom publication for Faculty of Business, Economics & Law, Auckland University of Technology.
NZX company research. (n.d.). Brokers Forecasts – Hallenstein Glassons. Retrieved from NZX Company research: http://companyresearch.nzx.com.ezproxy.aut.ac.nz/deep_ar/newpage.php?pageid=fcst&default=HLG
Appendices
• New page required for Appendices – should always be after References section
• The following should be included in the appendices (see Appendix template following):
o Appendix A
Profitability graph prepared using Excel
o Appendix B
ROE ratio
Market to book ratio
o Appendix C
Share price graph
• Ensure that you reference sources used to obtain this information
Appendix A – Profitability graph
Example of graph, using The a2 Milk Company Ltd and Synlait Milk Ltd
(NZX company research, n.d.)
Appendix B – Ratios
Example of ratios, using The a2 Milk and Synlait Milk Ltd
A2 Milk
2020 2019 2018 2017
ROE Ratio 34.02% 36.52% 35.21% 37.54%
Synlait Milk
2020 2019 2018 2017
ROE Ratio 12.4% 16.7% 17.55% 10.49%
(NZX company research, n.d.)
Market to Book Ratio
The a2 Milk Company Ltd
Market Price (date) $10.65 (16th Feb, 2021)
Market Capitalisation $7,908,763,879
Total Equity $1,134,062,000
Market to Book Ratio = Market Capitalisation/Total Equity
= 6.97
Synlait Milk Ltd
Market Price (date) $4.39 (16th Feb, 2021)
Market Capitalisation $959,573,492
Total Equity $606,484,000
Market to Book Ratio = Market Capitalisation/Total Equity
= 1.58
(NZX company research, n.d.)
Appendix C – Share price graph
Example of graph (using The a2 Milk Company Ltd, and Synlait Milk Ltd information)
(NZX company research, n.d.)
Or
(Google Finance, obtained 18th Feb, 2021 )