Lever Brothers has a debt ratio (debt to assets) of 20%.

Lever Brothers has a debt ratio (debt to assets) of 20%. Management is wondering if its current capital structure is too conservative. Lever Brothers’s present EBIT is $3 million, and profits available to common shareholders are $1,680,000, with 457,143 shares of common stock outstanding. If the firm were to instead have a debt ratio of 40%, additional interest expense would cause profits available to stockholders to decline to $1,560,000, but only 342,857 common shares would be outstanding. What is the difference in EPS at a debt ratio of 40% versus 20%?
A. $1.95
B. $1.16
C. $0.88
D. $2.12

Solution