Transcript Chapter 6

Valuing Bonds

Chapter 6 Fin 325, Section 04 - Spring 2010 Washington State University

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Overview

 The U.S. bond market is over twice the size of the U.S. stock market  Total outstanding debt in 2007: $29.2 trillion  Total market value of common stock: $14.2 trillion  In general, bonds are less risky than stocks  But, like all assets, high-yield bonds have higher risk 2

Bond Characteristics

Bonds are debt obligations   Corporations Federal government and federal agencies States and local governments   Bonds are also known as fixed-income securities  Amount and timing of cash flows are known  For the issuer, the bond is a loan that requires regular interest payments and repayment of the borrowed principal 3

Bond Terms

 The precise terms of a bond issue are outlined in the indenture  Maturity date  Par value (also called face value), usually $1,000  Interest rate  Any property pledged as collateral  Steps the bondholder can take in event of default 4

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Coupon Rate

 The bond’s interest rate   The name “coupon” is an artifact of history Now, bond owners are registered with the company. Interest payments are wired to the owner’s account  The coupon rate is listed as a percentage of par value  A 5 percent coupon rate pays 5 percent of $1000 (or $50) each year, or $25 every six months 6

Bond Price

 When first issued, bonds sell at par value  Bond prices change as interest rates and firm risk change  When the bonds trade among investors in the secondary market, the price will likely differ from par value  Corporate bond prices are quoted in terms of percent of par  Examples: a bond worth $1,150 would be listed at 115, while a bond worth $870 is quoted as 87 7

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Bond Issuers

 U.S. Treasury bonds  Corporate bonds  Municipal bonds 9

U.S. Treasury Bonds

 Backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government  Safest fixed-income investments  Fed sells Treasury securities through public auction  Finance the federal deficit; implement monetary policy  Maturities differ:    Less than one year: Treasury bills One to ten years: Treasury notes Greater than ten years: Treasury bonds 10

Corporate Bonds

 Used by corporations to raise capital  Firms have a choice when they raise capital:  Debt (bonds)  Equity (stock)  Firms seek to minimize their overall capital costs (capital structure decision) 11

Municipal Bonds

Issued by state and local governments  Streets, highways, hospitals, schools, sewer systems  General Obligation Bonds   Projects that benefit the entire community Repaid through tax revenues  Revenue Bonds  Projects that benefit certain groups, such as toll roads and airports   Repaid from user fees Interest is tax-free 12

Other Bonds and Bond-based Securities

 Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS)  These were first issued in 1997  They have fixed coupon rates  They are indexed to inflation   The federal government adjusts the par value to adjust for inflation reflected by changes in the CPI As the par value changes over time, so do the interest payments  The total return from TIPS comes from the interest payments and the inflation adjustment to par value 13

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Reading Bond Quotes

 Volume of trading in Treasury bonds and notes is huge  Average over a half billion dollars daily  Trading in corporate bonds and municipals is much less active 15

 Treasury bonds are quoted in 32s of a percent  Example: a quoted price of 105:19 means 105 and 19/32 percent, or 105.594% of par. This translates into a dollar price of $1,055.94.

 Bid price, Ask price, Bid-Ask spread  Premium bonds - sell at premium  Discount bonds - sell at discount  Sell at par 16

 Corporate bonds quotes are listed as a percentage of par  Example: a quote of 97.876 -> price $978.76

 Corporate bonds are riskier than Treasuries  Coupon rate (default risk, maturity, market interest rate)  In the U.S., corporate bonds typically pay their coupons semiannually.

 Example: pays $55.70 per year, or $27.85 every six months 17

 Municipal bonds are quoted in terms of percent of par  Municipal bonds often have a par value of $5,000 rather than $1,000  Example: a quote of 100.46 translates into a dollar price of (1.0046 x $5,000) = $5,002.30

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Bond Valuation

 The value of a bond represents the present value of future cash flows.

 Bonds are easier to value than stocks because in the case of bonds, the cash flows are known  Investors also know the time remaining to maturity, and the prevailing market interest rate for bonds of similar risk 19

Zero Coupon Bond

 Zero coupon bonds sell at a substantial discount to par  Example: Par value = $1,000; maturity = 20 years from now; discount rate = 6% (assume semi-annual compounding)

INPUT OUTPUT 40 N 3 I/YR PV 306.56

0 1000 PMT FV

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 What if it is an ordinary bond that pays a 7 percent coupon

INPUT OUTPUT 40 N 3 I/YR PV 1,115.37

35 1000 PMT FV

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Bond Prices and Interest Rate Risk

A bond’s interest payments and par value are fixed  Interest rates rise Bond prices fall  Interest rates fall Bond prices rise 23

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 Example:  5% bonds, semiannual compounding  15 years to maturity  Par value = $1,000  Required yield to maturity = 9%

INPUT OUTPUT 30 N 4.5 I/YR PV 674.22

25 1000 PMT FV

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 Same problem, but now the time to maturity is only 5 years:

INPUT OUTPUT 10 N 4.5 I/YR PV 841.75

25 1000 PMT FV

 The amount of the discount is much less for the 5-year bond versus the 15-year bond 26

 The size of a bond’s coupon also affects its interest rate risk  The larger the coupon, the less the bond’s price changes when interest rates change  Example: 30 year maturity, 7% semiannual coupons, 6% yield to maturity, $1,000 par

INPUT OUTPUT 60 N 3 I/YR PV 1,138.38

35 1000 PMT FV

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 Now let’s say interest rates increase by 1% so that the yield to maturity equals 7%

INPUT OUTPUT 60 N 3.5 I/YR PV 1,000 35 1000 PMT FV

 So the price changed by 1,138.38 – 1,000 = 138.38, or a decrease of 12.16% 28

 Same problem, interest rates increase from 6% to 7%, coupon rate 10%:  The price percentage change is smaller:  Price change = 1,553.51 – 1,374.17 = 179.34, or a 11.5% decrease  Reinvestment rate risk  Bondholders with higher coupon bonds can take those coupons and reinvest them at the new interest rate, thus offsetting a portion of the effect on price 29

Term Structure of Interest Rates

Different interest rates apply to bonds with different terms to maturity

Yield Curve

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Bond Yields

 Current Yield  Current yield measure the portion of total return that is due to the coupon interest payments  It ignores the portion of return due to price changes, or capital gains

Current yield

Annual coupon Bond price

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Yield to Maturity (YTM)

YTM measures the total return to the bond holder if the bond is held to maturity  It takes into account both the price paid for the bond and the amount of coupon interest  Example: Coupon rate = 7%, semiannual, 8 years left to maturity, current price = $1,150. What is the yield to maturity?

INPUT OUTPUT 16 N I/YR 2.363

-1150 35 1000 PV PMT FV

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 However, this 2.363 yield is for a 6-month period. We must convert this into an annual return  YTM = 2.363 x 2 = 4.73%  Bond prices and yields are inversely related  As a bond price falls, its YTM increases  Premium Bonds have a YTM less than coupon rate  Discount Bonds have a YTM greater than coupon rate 33

Callable Bond

 The issuer “calls” the bonds back prior to maturity  Advantage for the issuer, but a disadvantage for the investor  Pays the principal plus a call premium, which is usually one year’s worth of interest payments  Allows the issuing firm to refinance when interest rates fall 34

Yield to Call (YTC)

 The YTM calculation assumes that the bond is held to maturity  What if the bond is called by the issuer prior to maturity? The investor would receive only the coupon payments up to the point of call, plus the call price  The return from when the bond is purchased to when the bond is called is YTC. 35

Example:

 20-year bond with 7 percent coupons, semiannual  The bond can be called in 5 years at a call price of $1,070  The bond’s market price is $1,106.38.

INPUT OUTPUT 10 N I/YR 2.875

-1106.38 35 1070 PV PMT FV

YTC = 2 x 2.875 = 5.75% 36

Municipal Bonds and Yield

 Municipal bonds appear to offer low yields compared with corporate bonds and Treasury securities.

 This is because the interest from municipal bonds is tax exempt at the federal level, and generally at the state level as well  In order to compare yields, we must compute the after-tax yield on municipal bonds 37

Equivalent Taxable Yield

Equivalent Taxable Yield  Muni 1 tax yield rate  Example: Pre-tax yield on municipal bond is 5%, and investor’s marginal tax rate is 35%  Equivalent taxable yield = 5 / (1-.35) = 7.69%  Municipal bonds are more attractive to high income investors (with high marginal tax rates) 38

Credit Risk

 Bond Ratings  Measure of an issuer’s credit quality  Bond rating agencies, such as Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s, monitor debt and report their findings as a grade, or rating  Investment grade  Junk bond (speculative bond)  Bonds are sometimes downgraded or upgraded based on changing conditions “Fallen Angels” 39

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Bond Markets

 The majority of bond trading occurs in a decentralized, over-the-counter market, a small number of corporate bonds are listed on centralized exchanges such as the NYSE  Most trades occur between bond dealers and large institutional investors such as mutual funds, pension funds, and insurance companies  Bond Indexes track bond price and yield changes    Lehman Brothers Aggregate Bond Index Merrill Lynch Taxable Bond Index Bond Buyer Municipal Bond Index 41