Please help ASAP, I don't understand what these instructions are looking for. I'm totally lost.

1. Go to the Yahoo! Finance Web site.
2. Review the overview/main pages for the four public companies whose names your professor will provide to you. (Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) Target (TGT) Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ))
3. Research the four firms using either Key Statistics or Financials from the overview/main pages for the stocks on Yahoo! Finance Web site. Compute and compare the following financial ratios for the four firms for their most recent fiscal years:< >

   Note: In Key Statistics under the heading "Valuation Measures" there are numbers for both Trailing P/E ratios and Forward P/E ratios. Most commonly, in calculating both ratios the corporation's current stock price is divided by its earnings per share (EPS). The difference is that Trailing P/E ratios use reported EPS for the past year, specifically the past/trailing 12 months (ttm), and Forward P/E ratios use estimated EPS for the upcoming 4 quarters. Also, in interpreting some of the other statistics provided, please note that "yoy" is an acronym for "year-on-year" and "mrq" is an acronym for "most recent quarter."

   • Current Ratio (X)
   • Sales/Total Assets (percent) or Total asset turnover
   • Times interest earned (X)
   • Total Debt/Equity (percent)
   • Net Income / Net Sales (percent) or Return on Sales (ROS)
   • Net Income / Total Assets (percent) or Return on Assets (ROA)
   • Net Income / Common Equity (percent) or Return on Equity (ROE)
   • P/E or P/E Ratio (X)
4. Write a 1-2 page paper responding to the following questions based on your research:
   1. Compare the 8 financial ratios listed above for the four companies. It is recommended that you use a spreadsheet to demonstrate your comparison. Insert the table into your Word document and respond to the following questions:
      • How would you rank the four firms in terms of financial performance?
      • Why might their financial performances differ?
      • What economic or market factors might account for big differences in P/E ratios?