question help what kind of information does a company's debt ratio provide? course hero

by Sanford Wuckert DDS 8 min read

The debt ratio is a financial ratio that measures the extent of a company’s leverage. The debt ratio is defined as the ratio of total debt to total assets, expressed as a decimal or percentage. It can be interpreted as the proportion of a company’s assets that are financed by debt.

Full Answer

What kind of information does a company's debt ratio provide?

A debt ratio measures the amount of leverage used by a company in terms of total debt to total assets. This ratio varies widely across industries, such that capital-intensive businesses tend to have much higher debt ratios than others. A company's debt ratio can be calculated by dividing total debt by total assets.

What information does a comparison of the current ratio and acid-test ratio provide?

Compared to the current ratio – a liquidity or debt ratio which does include inventory value in the calculation – the acid-test ratio is considered a more conservative estimation of a company's financial health. The higher the ratio, the better the company's liquidity and overall financial health.

What does the debt ratio measure quizlet?

What is the Debt Ratio? Total Liabilities/Total Assets. The debt ratio indicates the percentage of the total asset amounts stated on the balance sheet that is owed to creditors. A high debt ratio indicates that a corporation has a high level of financial leverage.

What does the debt to assets ratio inform you about a company?

Debt-to-total assets ratio (debt-to-total capital ratio) The debt-to-total-assets ratio shows how much of a business is owned by creditors (people it has borrowed money from) compared with how much of the company's assets are owned by shareholders.

What does the debt to equity ratio show?

The debt-to-equity (D/E) ratio shows the proportion of equity and debt a company is using to finance its assets. The D/E ratio signals the extent to which shareholder's equity can fulfill obligations to creditors, in the event of a business decline.

What is the difference between the quick ratio and the current ratio quizlet?

The main difference between the current ratio and the quick ratio is that the latter offers a more conservative view of the company's ability to meets its short-term liabilities with its short-term assets because it does not include inventory and other current assets that are more difficult to liquidate (i.e., turn ...

Why is the debt ratio used?

The debt ratio of a business is used in order to determine how much risk that company has acquired. A low level of risk is preferable, and is linked to a more independent business that does not need to rely heavily on borrowed funds, and is therefore more financially stable.

What is the debt to asset ratio quizlet?

The debt to total assets ratio is an indicator of financial leverage. It tells you the percentage of total assets that were financed by creditors, liabilities, debt. The times interest earned ratio is an indicator of a company's ability to meet the interest payments on its debt.

Which of the following is the formula to measure debt ratio?

The formula for the debt ratio is total liabilities divided by total assets.

Why is debt to asset ratio important?

The debt to asset ratio is very important in determining the financial risk of a company. A ratio greater than 1 indicates that a significant portion of assets is funded with debt and that the company has a higher default risk. Therefore, the lower the ratio, the safer the company.

What is debt ratio example?

If your company has $100,000 in business loans and $25,000 in retained earnings, its debt-to-equity ratio would be 4. This is because $100,000 (total liabilities) divided by $25,000 (total equity) is 4 (debt ratio). This would be considered a high-risk debt ratio and a risky investment.

What is debt ratio analysis?

Debt ratio analysis, defined as an expression of the relationship between a company's total debt and assets, is a measure of the ability to service the debt of a company. It indicates what proportion of a company's financing asset is from debt, making it a good way to check a company's long-term solvency.

What does current ratio mean quizlet?

The current ratio is a liquidity ratio that measures a company's ability to pay short-term and long-term obligations. To gauge this ability, the current ratio considers the total assets of a company (both liquid and illiquid) relative to that company's total liabilities.

How is the current ratio calculated quizlet?

The current ratio is calculated by dividing the dollar amount of current assets by the dollar amount of current liabilities. A measure of the relationship between short-term assets and current liabilities. The quick ratio is computed by dividing the total cash and receivables by the total current liabilities.

What is the acid test ratio quizlet?

The acid test ratio (or quick ratio) of a business is the ratio of its liquid assets-cash and securities plus accounts receivable-to its current liabilities.

Why is current ratio used?

The current ratio is used to evaluate a company's ability to pay its short-term obligations, such as accounts payable and wages. It's calculated by dividing current assets by current liabilities. The higher the result, the stronger the financial position of the company.

What is the debt ratio of a company with assets of $100 million and debt of $30 million?

So if a company has total assets of $100 million and total debt of $30 million, its debt ratio is 0.3 or 30%. Is this company in a better financial situation than one with a debt ratio of 40%? The answer depends on the industry.

What are the two common debt ratios used to assess a borrower's ability to repay a loan or?

In the consumer lending and mortgages business, two common debt ratios that are used to assess a borrower’s ability to repay a loan or mortgage are the gross debt service ratio and the total debt service ratio .

What Is the Debt Ratio?

The term debt ratio refers to a financial ratio that measures the extent of a company’s leverage. The debt ratio is defined as the ratio of total debt to total assets, expressed as a decimal or percentage. It can be interpreted as the proportion of a company’s assets that are financed by debt. A ratio greater than 1 shows that a considerable portion of a company's debt is funded by assets, which means the company has more liabilities than assets. A high ratio indicates that a company may be at risk of default on its loans if interest rates suddenly rise. A ratio below 1 means that a greater portion of a company's assets is funded by equity. 1 2

Why is debt to assets ratio higher than long term debt to assets ratio?

Because the total debt to assets ratio includes more of a company's liabilities, this number is almost always higher than a company's long-term debt to assets ratio.

How does debt ratio work?

Some sources define the debt ratio as total liabilities divided by total assets. This reflects a certain ambiguity between the terms "debt" and "liabilities" that depends on the circumstance.

What is considered a good debt ratio?

What counts as a “good” debt ratio will depend on the nature of the business and its industry. Generally speaking, a debt to equity or debt to assets ratio below 1.0 would be seen as relatively safe, whereas ratios of 2.0 or higher would be considered risky.

Why is leverage important?

The higher the debt ratio, the more leveraged a company is, implying greater financial risk. At the same time, leverage is an important tool that companies use to grow, and many businesses find sustainable uses for debt.

What are the metrics used to assess debt capacity?

Another set of measures investment bankers use to assess debt capacity is cash flow metrics. These metrics include total debt-to-EBITDA, which can be broken down further to senior debt-to-EBITDA, cash interest coverage, and EBITDA-Capital Expenditures interest coverage.

Why do businesses take on debt?

A business takes on debt for several reasons – such as boosting production or marketing, expanding capacity, or acquiring new businesses. However, incurring too much debt or taking on the wrong type can result in damaging consequences.

What is debt to EBITDA?

The Debt-to-EBITDA#N#Debt/EBITDA Ratio The net debt to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) ratio measures financial leverage and a company’s ability to pay off its debt. Essentially, the net debt to EBITDA ratio (debt/EBITDA) gives an indication as to how long a company would need to operate at its current level to pay off all its debt.#N#measure is the most common cash flow metric to evaluate debt capacity. The ratio demonstrates a company’s ability to pay off its incurred debt and provides investment bankers with information on the amount of time required to clear all debt, ignoring interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. Total debt-to-EBITDA can be broken down into the senior or subordinated debt-to-EBITDA metric, which focuses on debt that a company must repay first in the event of distress.

Why is EBITDA important?

The level of EBITDA is important to assess the debt capacity, as companies with higher levels of EBITDA can generate more earnings to repay their debt. Hence, the higher the EBITDA level, the higher the debt capacity. However, although the level of EBITDA is crucial, the stability of a company’s EBITDA level is also important in assessing its debt ...

What is debt capacity?

Debt capacity refers to the total amount of debt a business can incur and repay according to the terms of a debt agreement. Debt Schedule A debt schedule lays out all of the debt a business has in a schedule based on its maturity and interest rate. In financial modeling, interest expense flows. .

What is EBITDA before interest?

EBITDA EBITDA or Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation, Amortization is a company's profits before any of these net deductions are made. EBITDA focuses on the operating decisions of a business because it looks at the business’ profitability from core operations before the impact of capital structure.

What is fixed charge coverage ratio?

The fixed-charge coverage ratio#N#Fixed-Charge Coverage Ratio (FCCR) The Fixed-Charge Coverage Ratio (FCCR) is a measure of a company’s ability to meet fixed-charge obligations such as interest and lease expenses .#N#is equal to a company’s EBITDA – CapEx – Cash Taxes – Distributions. The ratio is very close to a true cash flow measure and thus very relevant for assessing debt capacity.

image

What Is The Debt Ratio?

  • The term debt ratio refers to a financial ratio that measures the extent of a company’s leverage. The debt ratio is defined as the ratio of total debt to total assets, expressed as a decimal or percentage. It can be interpreted as the proportion of a company’s assets that are financed by debt. A ratio greater than 1 shows that a considerable amount...
See more on investopedia.com

Understanding Debt Ratios

  • As noted above, a company's debt ratio is a measure of the extent of its financial leverage. This ratio varies widely across industries. Capital-intensive businesses, such as utilities and pipelines tend to have much higher debt ratios than others like the technology sector. The formula for calculating a company's debt ratio is: Debt ratio=Total debtTotal assets\begin{aligned} &\tex…
See more on investopedia.com

Special Considerations

  • Some sources consider the debt ratio to be total liabilities divided by total assets. This reflects a certain ambiguity between the terms debt and liabilities that depends on the circumstance. The debt-to-equity ratio, for example, is closely related to and more common than the debt ratio, instead, using total liabilities as the numerator. Financial data providers calculate it using only lo…
See more on investopedia.com

Debt Ratio vs. Long-Term Debt to Asset Ratio

  • While the total debt to total assets ratio includes all debts, the long-term debt to assets ratioonly takes into account long-term debts. The debt ratio (total debt to assets) measure takes into account both long-term debts, such as mortgages and securities, and current or short-term debts such as rent, utilities, and loans maturing in less than 12 months. Both ratios, however, encompa…
See more on investopedia.com