Target Corporation Project
Financial Statement Analysis of Target.
Industry/Strategy Analysis
Begin your project with an introduction that briefly discusses your company and the products/services that it provides. You may discuss the firm’s strategy here or in the next section. Obtain the industry survey for your company’s industry via the Rider Library Site as discussed in class. Read the survey and comment on the variables discussed in the survey that are most relevant to analyzing your company. For example, comment on the nature of competition within the industry and macro or micro economic variables such as interest rates, disposable income, etc. that might have a bearing on the industry and the future prospects of your firm. Be sure to read the section on how to analyze a firm in the industry so you will have an understanding of what drives the industry and how your firm measures up. Areas such as marketing, finance, research and development, and management/strategy may be discussed here.
Accounting Analysis
Please read the footnotes in the financial statements and comment on the methods used to recognize revenue, value inventories, depreciation expense, leases, pensions, and other accounting principles covered in class. Ignore complicated notes involving material that was not discussed in class such as derivatives, etc.
Financial Analysis
After you have completed the Industry/Strategy and Accounting Analysis portions of your project as discussed in class use that information and the financial statements of your company to complete the final part, financial analysis, for your company.
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The following will describe some of the tools as well as expected items to use in your analysis.
Please examine major components of the income statement and note the major trends. This will involve a discussion of the major sources of revenues and expenses and the growth of these components. Also examine the balance sheet and discuss the major items that comprise the asset and liability sections.
Use the following ratios to examine liquidity, solvency and profitability of your firm:
Current Ratio
Quick Ratio
Inventory Turnover “
Accounts Receivable Turnover “
Debt Ratio “
Times Interest Earned
Asset Turnover
Assets to Equity
Rate of Return on Equity
Remember that your analysis for the above items should include some reference to a benchmark such as an industry average or key competitors. These may be obtained from library reference materials, the internet or in some cases the S&P industry surveys.
You should also summarize your findings in a brief conclusion.
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