The WACC of American Energy Partners Inc (AEPT) is 8.3%.
| Range | Selected | |
| Cost of equity | 5.30% - 8.00% | 6.65% |
| Tax rate | 26.20% - 27.00% | 26.60% |
| Cost of debt | 7.00% - 15.80% | 11.40% |
| WACC | 5.2% - 11.4% | 8.3% |
| Category | Low | High |
| Long-term bond rate | 3.9% | 4.4% |
| Equity market risk premium | 4.6% | 5.6% |
| Adjusted beta | 0.21 | 0.48 |
| Additional risk adjustments | 0.5% | 1.0% |
| Cost of equity | 5.30% | 8.00% |
| Tax rate | 26.20% | 27.00% |
| Debt/Equity ratio | 29.93 | 29.93 |
| Cost of debt | 7.00% | 15.80% |
| After-tax WACC | 5.2% | 11.4% |
| Selected WACC | 8.3% | |
The Cost of Equity reflects the return a company needs to deliver to shareholders to justify the risk of investing in its shares. It’s computed using the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), which blends the risk-free rate, the stock’s beta, and the market risk premium.
This method evaluates the stock’s risk compared to a safe investment and the market’s overall volatility.
Here’s how we figure out the cost of equity for AEPT:
cost_of_equity (6.65%) = risk_free_rate (4.15%) + equity_risk_premium (5.10%) * adjusted_beta (0.21) + risk_adjustments (0.75%)
We include the risk adjustments, which range from 0% to 1%, to keep our WACC conservatives, especially for companies traded in developing markets.