Writing Assignment:
Select a publicly traded company that trades on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) or on the
NASDAQ to analyze. Please note that it is usually easier to find recent information on larger or wellknown
companies. The analysis in your essay should answer the following questions:
• Why did you choose to analyze this company?
• What were the opinions of some of your referenced articles on this stock as an investment?
• Please note that it is best if there is at least some disagreement on this question.
• Is an investment in the stock a higher or lower risk investment than an investment in other stocks
as a whole? Why or why not?
• How large is the company in relation to its competitors?
• How fast is the company growing?
• How profitable is the company?
• What is the company’s price-to-earnings ratio? What does this tell you about the company?
• Does it have a dividend? If so, what is the dividend yield?
• Does the future of the company appear to be promising?
• On which exchange does the company trade, and what is its ticker symbol?
• Key Point: Do you recommend or not recommend this company’s stock as an investment for
investors that are considering stock investments? Why? 
3

• Explain the relevance of integrity in the context of financial management when making
recommendations to investors.

The Writing Assignment is to be 750 – 1,250 words in length (this range includes everything in the
assignment including your name, title, and citations). Turnitin.com software will be used to ensure that
submitted assignments are original works. The Writing Assignment should be in an essay format using
APA style.

Additionally, you are required to support your position by using at least one recent reference from an
academic journal or prominent business publication (e.g., The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, Fortune,
Investor’s Business Daily, etc.). A recent reference is one that has a publication date that is less than one
year old as of the beginning of the semester. Importantly, references from websites do not qualify unless
those websites are part of a reputable print publication. For example, Investopedia.com can be used, but
it does not count as a reference that satisfies the criteria of a recent reference. The ProQuest database
at the Saint Leo University Library website can be a useful tool for completing this assignment.

Submit the Written Assignment to Chalk and Wire using the links in the Assignment folder. Students that
do not submit the assignment to Chalk and Wire will receive a zero. This is a key program assessment;
the results are used to ensure students are meeting program goals. Video and PDF instructions can be
found on the course home page. PDF instructions are also located in the Student Resources folder.
(Chalk and Wire is linked to Turnitin).