Rationale for choosing the company for which to invest Ratio analysis Stock price analysis Recommendations

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Imagine that you are a financial manager researching investments for your client. Use the Strayer Learning Resource Center to research the stock of any U.S. publicly traded company that you may consider as an investment opportunity for your client. Your investment should align with your client’s investment goals. (Note: Please ensure that you are able to find enough information about this company in order to complete this assignment. You will create an appendix, in which you will insert related information.)

The assignment covers the following topics:

Rationale for choosing the company for which to invest Ratio analysis Stock price analysis Recommendations

Refer to the following resources to assist with completing your assignment:

Stock Selection

Forbes – “Six Rules to Follow When Picking Stocks” CNN Money – “Stocks: Investing in stocks” The Motley Fool – “13 Steps to Investing Foolishly” Seeking Alpha – “The Graham And Dodd Method For Valuing Stocks” Investopedia – “Guide to Stock-Picking Strategies” Seeking Alpha – “Get Your Smart Beta Here! Dividend Growth Stocks As ‘Strategic Beta’ Investments”

Market and Company Information

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission – “Market Structure” Yahoo! Finance Mergent Online (Note: This resource is also available through the Strayer Learning Resource Center.) Seeking Alpha (Note: Also available through the Android or iTunes App store.) Morningstar (Note: You can create a no-cost Basic Access account.) Research Hub, located in the left menu of your course in Blackboard.

Write a ten to fifteen (10-15) page paper in which you:

Provide a rationale for the stock that you selected, indicating the significant economic, financial, and other factors that led you to consider this stock. Suggest the primary reasons why the selected stock is a suitable investment for your client. Include a description of your client’s profile. Select any five (5) financial ratios that you have learned about in the text. Analyze the past three (3) years of the selected financial ratios for the company; you may obtain this information from the company’s financial statements. Determine the company’s financial health. (Note: Suggested ratios include, but are not limited to, current ratio, quick ratio, earnings per share, and price earnings ratio.) Based on your financial review, determine the risk level of the stock from your investor’s point of view. Indicate key strategies that you may use in order to minimize these perceived risks. Provide your recommendations of this stock as an investment opportunity. Support your rationale with resources, such as peer-reviewed articles, material from the Strayer Learning Resource Center, and reviews by market analysts. Use at least five (5) quality academic resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and other similar websites do not qualify as academic resources.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions. Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

Critique financial management strategies that support business operations in various market environments. Analyze financial statements for key ratios, cash flow positions, and taxation effects. Review fixed income strategies using time value of money concept, bond valuation methods, and interest rate calculations. Estimate the risk and return on financial investments. Apply financial management options to corporate finance. Determine the cost of capital and how to maximize returns. Formulate cash flow analysis for capital projects including project risks and returns. Evaluate how corporate valuation and forecasting affect financial management. Analyze how capital structure decision-making practices impact financial management. Use technology and information resources to research issues in financial management. Write clearly and concisely about financial management using proper writing mechanics.

The healthcare delivery system is often described as a service-driven industry

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Figure 1.1 in the course text illustrates how various functional plans for a healthcare organization support the overall strategic plan.

Figure 1.1: Relationship of overall strategic plan to business unit plans. Adapted from Strategic Planning and Marketing in Healthcare Organizations by R. Stevens and L. S. Silver, 2015, section 1.2: “The Importance of Strategic Planning and Marketing – Strategic Planning Process Overview.” Copyright 2015 by Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

The healthcare delivery system is often described as a service-driven industry. Therefore, it is vitally important for healthcare organizations to define the services that they are providing; however, it is equally important to determine the demographics or customer base that requires the specific service.

The strategic planning process supports the healthcare organization by prioritizing objectives and detailing the actions needed to fulfil the goals of the business plan. Specific actions are unique and depend on the healthcare organization’s services, goals, and mission. Not all objectives outlined in the strategic plan require marketing plans (e.g., purchasing land, equipment, and buildings). Other objectives may require a marketing plan (e.g., providing physical therapy targeted toward a specific demographic).

To prepare for this discussion, read Chapters 1 and 2 of the course text. You may also want to review the recommended article by Yang (2010). Then read the scenario below and construct your initial post based on the directives that follow.

Scenario

The marketing director for Happy Valley long-term care center looks at the organization’s strategic plan to differentiate marketable objectives from non-marketable objectives. Objectives found in the healthcare organization’s strategic plan include the following:

  • Purchasing medical equipment
  • Purchasing more land
  • Acquiring financial capital
  • Acquiring physical resources
  • Providing elder day care to Alzheimer’s patients
  • Providing physical therapy
  • Providing social activities such as bingo
  • Promoting product awareness such as: marketing in a manor to improve the public’s perception of the HCO’s product or service
  • Providing shuttle service to medical appointments
  • Increasing sales
  • Creating a brand
  • Establishing the organization as a leader in the long-term care industry

Initial Post: Based on the Happy Valley scenario detailed above and the information presented in Chapters 1 and 2 of the course text, construct an initial post in which you

  • Differentiate between the organization’s stated objectives as to whether they are marketable or non-marketable objectives.
  • Select the marketable objectives (i.e., those you would recommend developing in a marketing plan), and explain why you consider those objectives marketable.
  • Explain why the marketing plan objectives should be in line with the objectives in the healthcare organization’s strategic plan.

Health of Virginians

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Topic: Health of Virginians

In this learning activity, you will review secondary data sources for details about the health of Virginians. Target 1 Virginia county or community of interest in the following data sources; briefly scan the health assessment information to get a more detailed picture about the health status of Virginians in that specific locale or region. Then, look more closely at the health data concerning 1 of the 5 health ranking determinants you wrote about in Learning Activity 1.

• Virginia Department of Health Data & Statistics • Community Health Status Indicators • County Health Rankings • SMART: BRFSS Data

Following the principles of epidemiologic inquiry, answer the following questions regarding the information you uncovered about 1 health determinant in your selected county or community. Give your response in a post of 400–500 words.

• Person: Describe the population expressing the determinant o How many (percentage of population or rate) are described by this determinant? o How is the determinant expressed in the population (age, gender, education, socioeconomic status, or other characteristics)? o Compare segments of the population (who has the most/least, at greatest/least risk)?

• Place: Describe the location with regard to the determinant o Is the determinant seen more in urban or rural regions? o What other characteristics define the prevalence of the determinant in the region (housing, geography, topography, etc.)? o Compare other locations with the one you selected (how does prevalence compare in neighboring counties, the state, or the nation)?

• Period: Describe the time trends of the determinant o Over the past few years, has the prevalence rate decreased or increased or stayed about the same? (i.e., is it getting better or worse?) o Compare the time trends of the state and the nation with those of your location. Are they better, worse, or similar?

• Conclusion: From the information you gathered about the health determinant, describe a priority population in a particular place with a precise problem to address. This will be the focus of a public health intervention you will develop across the remaining learning activities.

Medical Management Committees

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Medical Management Committees

Managed care is a complex system involved in the financing and delivery of health care. The main goals of this system are to control access, quality, and cost of health care. MCOs have complex relationships or contracts with buyers (employers or individuals), providers (health care facilities and physicians), and consumers (patients). To this end, there is a need for complex management structures to organize and oversee these relationships.

There are six different medical management committees typically formed within an MCO. Some serve operational purposes while others serve to meet regulatory and quality standard functions. Refer to the readings of this week and answer the following questions:

  • Research a Managed Care Organization [MCO] (e.g. Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna, Humana, etc.) online. Discuss the similarities and differences between six medical management committees of an MCO.
  • Analyze the main role of each committee on the basis of your research.
  • Explain out of the six committees, which committee do you feel is the least important. State your reasoning using specific examples from your research.
  • In addition, how is the information you found online similar and/or different from what is described in your readings?

After answering the above questions, read the following information:

The development of MCOs has been influenced by the type of market they serve. For example, BCBS companies moved from primarily a service plan provider to a multiproduct line that includes HMO, PPO, and consumer choice plans. In addition, various types of managed care organizations have emerged due to forces imposed by the state and the federal governments, such as the HMO Act of 1973. Answer the following questions keeping in mind the above information:

  • Examine how public policy has impacted the growth of managed care.
  • Evaluate the impact of one federal and one state-level policy.
  • Compare and contrast the ways the policy caused the managed care market to grow or retract.
  • please document sources