Final answer:
The return on stockholders' equity for Network Communications is calculated to be approximately 18.04%, obtained by subtracting debts from total assets to find equity and dividing the net income by the equity.
Step-by-step explanation:
To calculate the return on stockholders equity (ROE), we need to find the net income of Network Communications. We start by calculating the fixed assets, which are the total assets minus current assets: $1,500,000 - $612,000 = $888,000. Given that fixed assets are turned over 3 times a year, we can find the sales: $888,000 x 3 = $2,664,000. If the return on sales is 8 percent, the net income is 8% of sales: $2,664,000 x 0.08 = $213,120. Now, the equity can be calculated as total assets minus debts: $1,500,000 - $319,000 = $1,181,000. Finally, to find the ROE, we divide the net income by equity: $213,120 / $1,181,000 ≈ 0.1804, or 18.04% when converted to a percentage and rounded to two decimal places.