The treasurer of Riley Coal Co. is asked to compute the cost of fixed income securities for her corporation. Even before making the calculations, she assumes the aftertax cost of debt is at least 4 percent less than that for preferred stock. Debt can be issued at a yield of 12.0 percent, and the corporate tax rate is 25 percent. Preferred stock will be priced at $62 and pay a dividend of $7.40. The flotation cost on the preferred stock is $7. a. Compute the aftertax cost of debt.
b. Compute the aftertax cost of preferred stock.
c. Based on the facts given above, is the treasurer correct?