Question

is trading at 54.33. You decide to short sell 100 shares of their stock, providing 3100 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 44. Assuming the brokerage account pays no interest on your cash, what is your return, relative to your collateral

Answer 1

Answer: 30.1%

Explanation:

Return = (Value of stock when shorted - Dividend - Value of stock when returning stock)/Capital employed

Dividend = 100 shares * $1 per share

= $100

Dividends are subtracted because they are owed to the shareholders the stock was borrowed from.

Value of stock when shorted = 54.33 * 100 = $5,433

Value of stock when returning stock = 44 * 100 = $4,400

= (5,433 - 100 - 4,400) / 3,100

= 30.1%