The WACC of Pennantpark Investment Corp (PNNT) is 8.7%.
| Range | Selected | |
| Cost of equity | 8.40% - 11.10% | 9.75% | 
| Tax rate | 4.40% - 6.30% | 5.35% | 
| Cost of debt | 4.90% - 12.40% | 8.65% | 
| WACC | 5.9% - 11.4% | 8.7% | 
| Category | Low | High | 
| Long-term bond rate | 3.9% | 4.4% | 
| Equity market risk premium | 4.6% | 5.6% | 
| Adjusted beta | 0.99 | 1.11 | 
| Additional risk adjustments | 0.0% | 0.5% | 
| Cost of equity | 8.40% | 11.10% | 
| Tax rate | 4.40% | 6.30% | 
| Debt/Equity ratio | 2.06 | 2.06 | 
| Cost of debt | 4.90% | 12.40% | 
| After-tax WACC | 5.9% | 11.4% | 
| Selected WACC | 8.7% | |
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 PNNT:
cost_of_equity (9.75%) = risk_free_rate (4.15%) + equity_risk_premium (5.10%) * adjusted_beta (0.99) + risk_adjustments (0.25%)
We include the risk adjustments, which range from 0% to 1%, to keep our WACC conservatives, especially for companies traded in developing markets.