Question

Comcast (CMCSA) is trading at 54.33. You decide to short sell 100 shares of their stock, providing 2850 in collateral to your broker. You hold the short position for one year and expect Comcast to pay a dividend of 1 per share. In one year, the stock price is 56. Assuming the brokerage account pays no interest on your cash, what is your return, relative to your collateral

Answer 1

Answer: =-9.34%

Explanation:

Assuming the brokerage account pays no interest on your cash, the return, relative to the collateral will be calculated as:

= (Short sell price - dividend - Share buy price)/Capital employed

= (5433 - 100 - 5600) / 2850

= -267 / 2850

= -0.09368

=-9.34%

Note:

Short sell price = 54.33 × 100 = 5433

Dividend = 100

Share buy price = 56 × 100 = 5600