Answer:
The maximum that should be paid for the stock today is $45 per share.
Explanation:
To calculate the current share price or the maximum that should be paid for the stock today, we will use the dividend discount model approach.
The dividend discount model (DDM) estimates the value of a share/stock based on the present value of the expected future dividends from the stock. We will use the two stage growth model of DDM here as the growth in dividends of the stock is divided into two stages.
The formula for current price under two stage growth model is,
P0 = D0 * (1+g1) / (1+r) + D0 * (1+g1)^2 / (1+r)^2 + ... + D0 * (1+g1)^n / (1+r)^n +
[( D0 * (1+g1)^n * (1+g2)) / (r - g2)] / (1+r)^n
Where,
g1 is initial growth rate
g2 is the constant growth rate
r is the required rate of return
So, the price of the stock today will be,
P0 = 2 * (1+0.20) / (1+0.12) + 2 * (1+0.20)^2 / (1+0.12)^2 +
[( 2 * (1+0.20)^2 * (1+0.06)) / (0.12 - 0.06)] / (1+0.12)^2
P0 = $45
