Andahl Corporation stock, of which you own 500 shares, will pay a $2
per share dividend one year from today.  Two years fron now Andahl
will close its doors; stockholders will recieve liquidating dividends
of $17.5375 per share. The required rate of retun on Andahl stock is
15 percent.
a.  What is the current price of Andahl stock?
b.  You prefer to receive equal amounts of money in each of the next
two years. How will you accomplish this?

Lola5 ?

Would that Gene Andahl?s company?

Wikipedia
?Gene Amdahl? 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Amdahl

But all kidding aside, the value of a stock is the Present Value of
expected future cash flows.  If you use PV discount factors you can
multiple them by cash flows:

PV factor, end year 1 = 1/1.15 = 0.8696
PV factor, end year 2 = 1/(1.15*1.15) = 0.7561

So the present value of the dividends paid per share are:
Year 1: $2.00 * 0.8696 = $1.74
Year 2 $17.5375 * 0.7561 = $13.26

So, the stock price today will be $15.00.  The stock price will
actually rise for the next 364 days as the PV of both payments
increase.

---

Your problem is that values change every day.  And selling 250 shares
today gives you $3,750 immediately ? plus $500 in dividends or $4,250.
 By keeping the other 250 shares you?ll net $4,384 in year 2.  You
could borrow against year 2 with a margin loan ? or sell a few more
shares.

It turns out that you?ll equalize cash flows at 254 shares:

Sell 254 = $3,810 sales + $492 dividends = $4,302
Keep 246 = $17.5375 * 246 = $4,314

It?s as close as you can come in full-share transactions.  But you can
take your $4,302 and invest it in a 1-year Treasury bill and more than
make up the difference!

Best regards,

Omnivorous-GA

I'm sorry but I disagree with the second part of the answer -- because
it seems to be answering the wrong question.  The original question
asks how we can get equal cashflows "in each of the next two years." 
Omnivorous's answer compares cashflow right now (in Year 0, if we sell
stocks in Year 0) with cashflow in Year 2.

If you sell 254 shares now, at $15/share, you are getting that
cashflow now, not in Year 1.  In Year 1, you will get your dividends
of $492 ($2/share * the remaining 246 shares).  That's not what the
original question wants.

Instead, I believe the answer lies in selling shares in Year 1 after
dividends are paid on the entire 500 shares, at $15.25/share.  The
closet number I got was selling 237 shares in Year 1 (letting the
other shares be liquated at the end of Year 2).