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Hurdle Rate Definition
Hurdle Rate Definition
INVESTING ESSENTIALS
Hurdle Rate
By
WILL KENTON
|
Reviewed by
MICHAEL J BOYLE
|
Updated Mar 22, 2021
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KEY TAKEAWAYS
A hurdle rate is the minimum rate of return required on a project or investment.
Hurdle rates give companies insight into whether they should pursue a specific
project.
Riskier projects generally have a higher hurdle rate, while those with lower rates
come with lower risk.
Investors use a hurdle rate in a discounted cash flow analysis to arrive at the net
present value of an investment to deem its worth.
Companies often use their weighted average cost of capital (WACC) as the hurdle
rate.
Hurdle Rate
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Cash flows are discounted by a set rate, which the company chooses as the minimum rate of
return needed for an investment or project; the hurdle rate. The value of the discounted cash
flows depends on the rate used in discounting them. The overall cost of the project is then
subtracted from the sum of the discounted cash flows using the hurdle rate to arrive at the
net present value of the project. If the NPV is positive, the company will approve the project.
Often companies use their weighted average cost of capital (WACC) as the hurdle rate.
In the second method, the internal rate of return (IRR) on the project is calculated and
compared to the hurdle rate. If the IRR exceeds the hurdle rate, the project would most likely
proceed.
Hurdle Rate Usage
Often, a risk premium is assigned to a potential investment to denote the anticipated
amount of risk involved. The higher the risk, the higher the risk premium should be, as it
takes into consideration the fact that if the risk of losing your money is higher, so should the
return on your investment be higher. A risk premium is typically added onto the WACC to
arrive at a more appropriate hurdle rate.
Using a hurdle rate to determine an investment's potential helps eliminate any bias created
by preference toward a project. By assigning an appropriate risk factor, an investor can
use the hurdle rate to demonstrate whether the project has financial merit regardless of any
assigned intrinsic value.
For example, a company with a hurdle rate of 10% for acceptable projects would most likely
accept a project if it has an IRR of 14% and no significant risk. Alternatively, discounting the
future cash flows of this project by the hurdle rate of 10% would lead to a large and positive
net present value, which would also lead to the project's acceptance.
As the hurdle rate is 8% and the expected return on the investment is higher at 11%,
purchasing the new piece of machinery would be a good investment.
Related Terms
Related Terms
Cost of Capital
Cost of capital is the required return a company needs in order to make a capital budgeting project,
such as building a new factory, worthwhile.
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