Definition of Equity options

Equity options

Securities that give the holder the right to buy or sell a specified number of shares of stock, at
a specified price for a certain (limited) time period. Typically one option equals 100 shares of stock.

All equity rate

The discount rate that reflects only the business risks of a project and abstracts from the
effects of financing.

Asset/equity ratio

The ratio of total assets to stockholder equity.

Barrier options

Contracts with trigger points that, when crossed, automatically generate buying or selling of
other options. These are very exotic options.

Basket options

Packages that involve the exchange of more than two currencies against a base currency at
expiration. The basket option buyer purchases the right, but not the obligation, to receive designated
currencies in exchange for a base currency, either at the prevailing spot market rate or at a prearranged rate of
exchange. A basket option is generally used by multinational corporations with multicurrency cash flows
since it is generally cheaper to buy an option on a basket of currencies than to buy individual options on each
of the currencies that make up the basket.

Bottom-up equity management style

A management style that de-emphasizes the significance of economic
and market cycles, focusing instead on the analysis of individual stocks.

Common stock/other equity

Value of outstanding common shares at par, plus accumulated retained
earnings. Also called shareholders' equity.

Dealer options

Over-the-counter options, such as those offered by government and mortgage-backed
securities dealers.

Debt/equity ratio

Indicator of financial leverage. Compares assets provided by creditors to assets provided
by shareholders. Determined by dividing long-term debt by common stockholder equity.

Deferred equity

A common term for convertible bonds because of their equity component and the
expectation that the bond will ultimately be converted into shares of common stock.

Delivery options

The options available to the seller of an interest rate futures contract, including the quality
option, the timing option, and the wild card option. Delivery options make the buyer uncertain of which
Treasury Bond will be delivered or when it will be delivered.

Dual syndicate equity offering

An international equity placement where the offering is split into two
tranches - domestic and foreign - and each tranche is handled by a separate lead manager.

Equity

Represents ownership interest in a firm. Also the residual dollar value of a futures trading account,
assuming its liquidation at the going market price.

Equity cap

An agreement in which one party, for an upfront premium, agrees to compensate the other at
specific time periods if a designated stock market benchmark is greater than a predetermined level.

Equity claim

Also called a residual claim, a claim to a share of earnings after debt obligation have been
satisfied.

Equity collar

The simultaneous purchase of an equity floor and sale of an equity cap.

Equity contribution agreement

An agreement to contribute equity to a project under certain specified
conditions.

Equity floor

An agreement in which one party agrees to pay the other at specific time periods if a specific
stock market benchmark is less than a predetermined level.

Equity kicker

Used to refer to warrants because they are usually issued attached to privately placed bonds.

Equity market

Related:Stock market

Equity multiplier

Total assets divided by total common stockholders' equity; the amount of total assets per
dollar of stockholders' equity.

Equity swap

A swap in which the cash flows that are exchanged are based on the total return on some stock
market index and an interest rate (either a fixed rate or a floating rate). Related: interest rate swap.

Equity-linked policies

Related: Variable life

Equityholders

Those holding shares of the firm's equity.

Euroequity issues

Securities sold in the Euromarket. That is, securities initially sold to investors
simultaneously in several national markets by an international syndicate. Euromarket.
Related: external market

Foreign equity market

That portion of the domestic equity market that represents issues floated by foreign companies.

GEMs (growing-equity mortgages)

Mortgages in which annual increases in monthly payments are used to
reduce outstanding principal and to shorten the term of the loan.

Investor's equity

The balance of a margin account. Related: buying on margin, initial margin requirement.

Leveraged equity

Stock in a firm that relies on financial leverage. Holders of leveraged equity face the
benefits and costs of using debt.

Long-term debt to equity ratio

A capitalization ratio comparing long-term debt to shareholders' equity.

Margin requirement (Options)

The amount of cash an uncovered (naked) option writer is required to
deposit and maintain to cover his daily position valuation and reasonably foreseeable intra-day price changes.

Options contract

A contract that, in exchange for the option price, gives the option buyer the right, but not
the obligation, to buy (or sell) a financial asset at the exercise price from (or to) the option seller within a
specified time period, or on a specified date (expiration date).

Options contract multiple

A constant, set at $100, which when multiplied by the cash index value gives the
dollar value of the stock index underlying an option. That is, dollar value of the underlying stock index = cash
index value x $100 (the options contract multiple).

Options on physicals

Interest rate options written on fixed-income securities, as opposed to those written on
interest rate futures contracts.

Preferred equity redemption stock (PERC)

Preferred stock that converts automatically into equity at a
stated date. A limit is placed on the value of the shares the investor receives.

Return on equity (ROE)

Indicator of profitability. Determined by dividing net income for the past 12
months by common stockholder equity (adjusted for stock splits). Result is shown as a percentage. Investors
use ROE as a measure of how a company is using its money. ROE may be decomposed into return on assets
(ROA) multiplied by financial leverage (total assets/total equity).

Shareholders' equity

This is a company's total assets minus total liabilities. A company's net worth is the
same thing.

Stockholder equity

Balance sheet item that includes the book value of ownership in the corporation. It
includes capital stock, paid in surplus, and retained earnings.

Stockholder's equity

The residual claims that stockholders have against a firm's assets, calculated by
subtracting total liabilities from total assets.

Stratified equity indexing

A method of constructing a replicating portfolio in which the stocks in the index
are classified into stratum, and each stratum is represented in the portfolio.

Top-down equity management style

A management style that begins with an assessment of the overall
economic environment and makes a general asset allocation decision regarding various sectors of the financial
markets and various industries. The bottom-up manager, in contrast, selects the specific securities within the
favored sectors.

Total debt to equity ratio

A capitalization ratio comparing current liabilities plus long-term debt to
shareholders' equity.

RATE OF RETURN ON STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

The percentage return or profit that management made on each dollar stockholders invested in a company. Here’s how you figure it:
(Net income) / (Stockholders’ equity)

RATIO OF DEBT TO STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

A ratio that shows which group—creditors or stockholders—has the biggest stake in or the most control of a company:
(Total liabilities) / (Stockholders’ equity)

STOCKHOLDERS’ (OR OWNERS’) EQUITY

The value of the owners’ interests in a company.

Equity

Funds raised from shareholders.

Contra-equity account

An account that reduces an equity account. An example is Treasury stock.

Equity

Amounts contributed to the company by the owners (contributed capital) plus the residual earnings of the business (retained earnings).

Shareholders' equity

The total amount of contributed capital and retained earnings; synonymous with stockholders' equity.

Stockholders' equity

The total amount of contributed capital and retained earnings; synonymous with shareholders’ equity.

debt-to-equity ratio

A widely used financial statement ratio to assess the
overall debt load of a business and its capital structure, it equals total liabilities
divided by total owners’ equity. Both numbers for this ratio are
taken from a business’s latest balance sheet. There is no standard, or
generally agreed on, maximum ratio, such as 1:1 or 2:1. Every industry
is different in this regard. Some businesses, such as financial institutions,
have very high debt-to-equity ratios. In contrast, many businesses
use very little debt relative to their owners’ equity.

equity

Refers to one of the two basic sources of capital for a business, the
other being debt (borrowed money). Most often, it is called owners’
equity because it refers to the capital used by a business that “belongs”
to the ownership interests in the business. Owners’ equity arises from
two quite distinct sources: capital invested by the owners in the business
and profit (net income) earned by the business that is not distributed to
its owners (called retained earnings). Owners’ equity in our highly developed
and sophisticated economic and legal system can be very complex—
involving stock options, financial derivatives of all kinds, different
classes of stock, convertible debt, and so on.

owners' equity

Refers to the capital invested in a business by its shareowners
plus the profit earned by the business that has not been distributed
to its shareowners, which is called retained earnings. Owners’
equity is one of the two basic sources of capital for a business, the other
being borrowed money, or debt. The book value, or value reported in a
balance sheet for owners’ equity, is not the market value of the business.
Rather, the balance sheet value reflects the historical amounts of capital
invested in the business by the owners over the years plus the accumulation
of yearly profits that were not paid out to owners.

return on equity (ROE)

This key ratio, expressed as a percent, equals net
income for the year divided by owners’ equity. ROE should be higher than
a business’s interest rate on debt because the owners take more risk.

stockholders' equity, statement of changes in

Although often considered
a financial statement, this is more in the nature of a supporting schedule
that summarizes in one place various changes in the owners’ equity
accounts of a business during the period—including the issuance and
retirement of capital stock shares, cash dividends, and other transactions
affecting owners’ equity. This statement (schedule) is very helpful
when a business has more than one class of stock shares outstanding
and when a variety of events occurred during the year that changed its
owners’ equity accounts.

Cost of Equity

Same as the cost of common stock. Sometimes viewed as the
rate of return stockholders require to maintain the market value of
the company's common stock.

Return on Common Equity Ratio

A measure of the percentage return earned on the value of the
common equity invested in the company. It is calculated by
dividing the net income available for distribution to shareholders
by the book value of the common equity.

cafeteria plan a “menu” of fringe benefit options that include

cash or nontaxable benefits

Equity

The difference between the total of all recorded assets and liabilities on the balance
sheet.

Owners' equity

The total of all capital contributions and retained earnings on a business’s
balance sheet.

real options

options embedded in real assets.

Equity

Ownership. Common stock represents equity in a corporation.

Equity Method

Accounting method for an equity security in cases where the investor has sufficient
voting interest to have significant influence over the operating and financial policies of an
investee.

Equity Security

An ownership interest in an enterprise, including preferred and common stock.

Shareholders' Equity

The residual interest or owners' claims on the assets of a corporation
that remain after deducting its liabilities.

Debt/Equity Ratio

A comparison of debt to equity in a company's capital structure.

Equity

The net worth of a business, consisting of capital stock, capital (or paid-in) surplus (or retained earnings), and, occasionally, certain net worth reserves. Common equity is that part of the total net worth belonging to the common shareholders. Total equity includes preferred shareholders. The terms common stock, net worth, and common equity are frequently used interchangeably.

Equity Buy-Back

Refers to the investors percentage ownership of a company that can be re-acquired by the company, usually at a pre-determined amount.

Exit Options

A variety of options available to an investor to recover their invested capital and the return on their investment.

Quasi-Equity

Funds, other than paid-up capital and retained earnings, employed in a business and which will remain in a business as permanent capital.

Shareholder's Equity

Represents the total assets of a corporation less liabilities.

equity

The net worth of a company. This represents the ownership interest of the shareholders (common and preferred) of a company. For this reason, shares or stocks are often known as equities.

Equity-based insurance

Life insurance or annuity product in which the cash value and benefit level fluctuate according to the performance of an equity portfolio.

Equity investment

Through equity investment, investors gain part ownership of the corporation. The primary type of equity investment is corporate stock.

LEAPS

Long-term equity anticipation securities. Long-term options.

capital structure, or capitalization

Terms that refer to the combination of
capital sources that a business has tapped for investing in its assets—in
particular, the mix of its interest-bearing debt and its owners’ equity. In a
more sweeping sense, the terms also include appendages and other features
of the basic debt and equity instruments of a business. Such things
as stock options, stock warrants, and convertible features of preferred
stock and notes payable are included in the more inclusive sense of the
terms, as well as any debt-based and equity-based financial derivatives
issued by the business.

Binomial model

A method of pricing options or other equity derivatives in
which the probability over time of each possible price follows a binomial
distribution. The basic assumption is that prices can move to only two values
(one higher and one lower) over any short time period.

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