Chapter 17 discusses the Payout Policy of firms. As the chapter describes, the payout decision is very complex and involves more than just how much of earnings should be paid out. Further, there are a number of alternatives to dividends.

For the firm you are analyzing for your course project, assess the firm's payout policy in all of its complexities. That is, address the following questions:

1. Does the firm pay dividends? If      so, discuss the payout rate. How has it changed over time?
2. Does the firm pay dividends in      any other form–e.g.,share repurchase? How does the firm balance this with      its traditional dividend payout? How has this policy changed over time?
3. Assess the growth of the firm      in terms of its amount of total assets. Where have funds for growth come      from? How does this relate to the firm's payout policy?