Companies Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Companies Research - Essay Example Total Asset Turnover has been on the high for Kroger and Wall-Mart with 3.487 and 2.335 respectively. Eaton has failed to maintain a high ratio; its turnover ratio stands at 0.795. Eaton Corporation has struggled in this regard as well, which is evident by its last position in the industry with respect to earnings produced with each dollar spent on an asset. Total Debt to equity ratio has been high for all four organizations but Kroger Co. crosses all boundaries with a ratio of 141.81:1. Wall-Mart stands second with 81.39, and Eaton is third with a ratio of 46. Chevron is a relatively low leveraged firm, which is indicated by the minimal interest payments it has to make. Chevron, being the most profitable company, leads the chart in terms of times interest earned with a ratio multiple of 381. For the current year, Chevron had interest payments of only $50,000. Wall-Mart is the second company to make substantially high returns out of the debt it takes with a multiple of 8.43. Kroger C o. is not surprisingly at the bottom of the chart with only 3.49. Return on Sales/Net profit margin has been impressive for Chevron with 9.55%. Eaton Co. also practices a higher return on the sale with 6.77%. The Kroger Co. again is at the bottom of the chart with 1.38% return on Sales. Return on Assets is the earnings made with each dollar spent on an asset. With the highest net income Chevron Co. again tops the list with a return of 10.94%. Wall-Mart takes the second spot with 8.91% and Eaton Co. being the last of the four with 5.46%. Moreover, the return earned on every dollar of equity is the highest for Wall-Mart. This means that Wall-Mart provides the highest return to a shareholder, which is the objective of a corporation. Kroger Co. takes the second spot with 22.87%. In addition to it, Chevron has an equity centric structure hence it takes the third spot out of the four with 21.33% while Eaton creates the lowest return for their shareholders with a return of 15.9% rests at t he bottom. By comparing P/E ratio, one can analyze the market’s stock evaluation for a company. P/E is directly proportional to forecasted earnings hence a rise in P/E is a resultant of increased expectation for earnings (Besley and Brigham, 2000). The Kroger Co. tops the list with a P/E multiple of 12.64. It could be inferred that investors expect higher returns in the future for Kroger Co. Eaton Corporation follows with 12.17 and Chevron being the last with 8.53. Lastly, Market to Book Value ratio is used to compare company’s market worth to its book value. It gives an idea of whether an investor is paying adequate money for his investment or more (Levinson 2006). It is calculated by the company’s market capitalization divided by the value in company’s books. Wall-Mart tops the list with 2.76, followed by Kroger Co. with 2.69 and Chevron taking the last position. 1. Chevron is an oil and gas manufacturing and exploration company, Eaton Co. is a transpor t/truck manufacturer, whereas Kroger Co. and Wall-Mart are in the retail industry. I would rank Chevron as the leader of the