Answer : company’s target debt-equity ratio= 0.38
Working Notes for the above answer is as under
let x = weight of debt, so (1 – x) = weight of equity
Using WACC…
0.125 = 0.155(1 – x) + x* (0.77 * (1 – 0.33))
0.125 = 0.155 – 0.155x + 0.0469x
0.03 = 0.1081x
x = 0.2775<weight of debt…i.e. Debt/Total Capital…D/C
(1 – x) = 0.7225<weight of equity
D/E = weight debt / weight equity = 0.2775 / 0.7225 = 0.38