14.20 Market Multiples and Reverse Engineering Share Prices. In 2000, Enron enjoyed remarkable success in the capital markets. During that year, Enron's shares increased in value by 89%, while the S&P 500 index fell by 9%. At the end of 2000, Enron's shares were trading at roughly $83 per share, and all of the sell-side analysts following Enron recommended the shares as a "buy" or a "strong buy." With 752.2 million shares out- standing, Enron had a market capitalization of $62,530 million and was one of the largest firms (in terms of market capital) in the United States. At year-end 2000, Enron's book value of com- mon shareholders' equity was $11,470 million. At year-end 2000, Enron posted earnings per share of $1.19. Among sell-side analysts following Enron, the consensus forecast for earnings per share was $1.31 per share for 2001 and $1.44 per share for 2002, with 10% earnings growth expected from 2003 to 2005. At the time, Enron was paying dividends equivalent to roughly 40% of earnings and was expected to maintain that payout policy. At year-end 2000, Enron had a market beta of 1.7. The risk-free rate of return was 4.3%, and the market risk premium was