Lebenthal Lisanti Current Debt

ASCGX Fund  USD 21.19  0.05  0.24%   
Lebenthal Lisanti's financial leverage is the degree to which the firm utilizes its fixed-income securities and uses equity to finance projects. Companies with high leverage are usually considered to be at financial risk. Lebenthal Lisanti's financial risk is the risk to Lebenthal Lisanti stockholders that is caused by an increase in debt. In other words, with a high degree of financial leverage come high-interest payments, which usually reduce Earnings Per Share (EPS).
Given that Lebenthal Lisanti's debt-to-equity ratio measures a Mutual Fund's obligations relative to the value of its net assets, it is usually used by traders to estimate the extent to which Lebenthal Lisanti is acquiring new debt as a mechanism of leveraging its assets. A high debt-to-equity ratio is generally associated with increased risk, implying that it has been aggressive in financing its growth with debt. Another way to look at debt-to-equity ratios is to compare the overall debt load of Lebenthal Lisanti to its assets or equity, showing how much of the company assets belong to shareholders vs. creditors. If shareholders own more assets, Lebenthal Lisanti is said to be less leveraged. If creditors hold a majority of Lebenthal Lisanti's assets, the Mutual Fund is said to be highly leveraged.
  
Check out the analysis of Lebenthal Lisanti Fundamentals Over Time.

Lebenthal Lisanti Assets Financed by Debt

Typically, companies with high debt-to-asset ratios are said to be highly leveraged. The higher the ratio, the greater risk will be associated with the Lebenthal Lisanti's operation. In addition, a high debt-to-assets ratio may indicate a low borrowing capacity of Lebenthal Lisanti, which in turn will lower the firm's financial flexibility.

Understaning Lebenthal Lisanti Use of Financial Leverage

Understanding the structure of Lebenthal Lisanti's debt obligations provides insight if it is worth investing in it. Financial leverage can amplify the potential profits to Lebenthal Lisanti's owners, but it also increases the potential losses and risk of financial distress, including bankruptcy, if the firm cannot cover its cost of debt.
The fund normally invests at least 80 percent of its net assets in the equity securities of smaller, lesser-known companies whose stocks are traded in the U.S. markets. It normally invests in companies that the Adviser believes are in an early stage or transitional point in their development and have above average prospects for growth.
Please read more on our technical analysis page.

Also Currently Popular

Analyzing currently trending equities could be an opportunity to develop a better portfolio based on different market momentums that they can trigger. Utilizing the top trending stocks is also useful when creating a market-neutral strategy or pair trading technique involving a short or a long position in a currently trending equity.

Other Information on Investing in Lebenthal Mutual Fund

Lebenthal Lisanti financial ratios help investors to determine whether Lebenthal Mutual Fund is cheap or expensive when compared to a particular measure, such as profits or enterprise value. In other words, they help investors to determine the cost of investment in Lebenthal with respect to the benefits of owning Lebenthal Lisanti security.
Price Ceiling Movement
Calculate and plot Price Ceiling Movement for different equity instruments
Performance Analysis
Check effects of mean-variance optimization against your current asset allocation

What is Financial Leverage?

Financial leverage is the use of borrowed money (debt) to finance the purchase of assets with the expectation that the income or capital gain from the new asset will exceed the cost of borrowing. In most cases, the debt provider will limit how much risk it is ready to take and indicate a limit on the extent of the leverage it will allow. In the case of asset-backed lending, the financial provider uses the assets as collateral until the borrower repays the loan. In the case of a cash flow loan, the general creditworthiness of the company is used to back the loan. The concept of leverage is common in the business world. It is mostly used to boost the returns on equity capital of a company, especially when the business is unable to increase its operating efficiency and returns on total investment. Because earnings on borrowing are higher than the interest payable on debt, the company's total earnings will increase, ultimately boosting stockholders' profits.

Leverage and Capital Costs

The debt to equity ratio plays a role in the working average cost of capital (WACC). The overall interest on debt represents the break-even point that must be obtained to profitability in a given venture. Thus, WACC is essentially the average interest an organization owes on the capital it has borrowed for leverage. Let's say equity represents 60% of borrowed capital, and debt is 40%. This results in a financial leverage calculation of 40/60, or 0.6667. The organization owes 10% on all equity and 5% on all debt. That means that the weighted average cost of capital is (.4)(5) + (.6)(10) - or 8%. For every $10,000 borrowed, this organization will owe $800 in interest. Profit must be higher than 8% on the project to offset the cost of interest and justify this leverage.

Benefits of Financial Leverage

Leverage provides the following benefits for companies:
  • Leverage is an essential tool a company's management can use to make the best financing and investment decisions.
  • It provides a variety of financing sources by which the firm can achieve its target earnings.
  • Leverage is also an essential technique in investing as it helps companies set a threshold for the expansion of business operations. For example, it can be used to recommend restrictions on business expansion once the projected return on additional investment is lower than the cost of debt.
By borrowing funds, the firm incurs a debt that must be paid. But, this debt is paid in small installments over a relatively long period of time. This frees funds for more immediate use in the stock market. For example, suppose a company can afford a new factory but will be left with negligible free cash. In that case, it may be better to finance the factory and spend the cash on hand on inputs, labor, or even hold a significant portion as a reserve against unforeseen circumstances.

The Risk of Financial Leverage

The most obvious and apparent risk of leverage is that if price changes unexpectedly, the leveraged position can lead to severe losses. For example, imagine a hedge fund seeded by $50 worth of investor money. The hedge fund borrows another $50 and buys an asset worth $100, leading to a leverage ratio of 2:1. For the investor, this is neither good nor bad -- until the asset price changes. If the asset price goes up 10 percent, the investor earns $10 on $50 of capital, a net gain of 20 percent, and is very pleased with the increased gains from the leverage. However, if the asset price crashes unexpectedly, say by 30 percent, the investor loses $30 on $50 of capital, suffering a 60 percent loss. In other words, the effect of leverage is to increase the volatility of returns and increase the effects of a price change on the asset to the bottom line while increasing the chance for profit as well.