The Following Financial Statement Information Is Available for Long Corporation

The following financial statement information is available for Long Corporation: $\begin{array}{lrr}&2017&2016\\\text { Net income } & \$ 115,000 & \$ 80,000 \\\text { Income tax expense } & 30,000 & 29,000 \\\text { Interest expense } & 18,000 & 14,000 \\\text { Dividends paid to preferred } & & \\\quad \text { stockholders } & 22,000 & 20,000\\\text { Dividends paid to preferred }\\\text { stockholders }&15,000&10,000\end{array}$ The times interest earned for 2017 is

A) 7.4 times.
B) 6.4 times.
C) 9.1 times.
D) 7.8 times.