The recently deregulated electric utility industry introduced new market competitiveness.
FPL’s current dividend policy is inappropriately high for such a market environment.
FPL must reduce its payout ratio to 60% because such a ratio would place FPL at the
lower end of the range of that of their peer companies, better positioning FPL for
Broadhead’s vision of future performance and growth.
Kate Stark should revise her investment recommendation from “hold” to “buy,”
upgrading her rating because the value reflected after the decrease in payout ratio is lower
than the intrinsic value of the stock ($42.16, see Exhibit B). The lower value reflected by
the decreased payout ratio is the result of the effect of signaling in the market.