Question

A stock has an expected return of 11.85 percent, its beta is 1.24, and the expected return on the market is 10.2 percent. What must the risk-free rate be? (Do not round intermediate calculations and enter your answer as a percent rounded to 2 decimal places, e.g., 32.16.)

Answer 1

The risk free rate is 3.325%

Step-by-step explanation:

The required rate of return or cost of equity of a stock can be calculated using the CAPM. The CAPM estimates the required rate of return of a stock based on three factors- risk free rate, stock's beta and the market risk premium. The equation of required rate of return under CAPM is,

r = rRF + Beta * (rM - rRF)

Where,

• rRF is the risk free rate
• rM is the return on market
• (rM - rRF) gives us the risk premium of market

We already have the values for r, Beta and rM. Plugging in these values in the formula, we calculate the rRF to be,

Let rRF be x.

0.1185 = x + 1.24 * (0.102 - x)

0.1185 = x + 0.12648 - 1.24x

1.24x - x = 0.12648 - 0.1185

0.24x = 0.00798

x = 0.00798/0.24

x = 0.03325 or 3.325%