| | InvestHub.com's
Finance Dictionary and Glossary of Investment Terms
Debt ratio
Definition 1.
Total debt divided by total assets.
|
Definition 2.
A ratio that indicates what proportion of debt a company has relative to assets. It is calculated by dividing total debts by total assets.
|
Definition 3.
Liabilities divided by assets. The debt ratio is a good indicator of the extent to which a business is leveraged. The lower this number, the more conservative the firm and the less likely it is to be knocked for a loop in hard times. On the other hand, the judicious use of leverage can result in a higher return on assets -- in other words, increased profitability. Like so many ratios, this one varies depending on the industry a company is in. Generally, however, the debt of industrial firms should not exceed roughly two-thirds of equity, or a debt ratio of about 65 percent. This ratio tends to be higher in the transportation and utility industries.
|
|
|