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What do dividend reductions signal?

Author

Listed:
  • Jensen, Gerald R.
  • Lundstrum, Leonard L.
  • Miller, Robert E.

Abstract

Dividend reductions have long been considered a "last resort" action for firm managers. Managerial reluctance to reduce dividends emanates from the view that dividend drops signal managerial pessimism regarding future earnings. Contrary to expectations, studies show that earnings rebound significantly following a dividend reduction; yet investors react negatively to the dividend-drop announcement. We present an explanation for the anomalous behavior of earnings and returns around the time of a dividend drop. Our evidence suggests that a reduction in a firm's established dividend coincides with a decrease in the value of the firm's real options. Earnings rebound following the dividend reduction due to the savings that result as the firm allows growth options to expire; however, announcement period returns suggest that investors recognize the lost value associated with the forthcoming expiration of growth options.

Suggested Citation

  • Jensen, Gerald R. & Lundstrum, Leonard L. & Miller, Robert E., 2010. "What do dividend reductions signal?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 16(5), pages 736-747, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:corfin:v:16:y:2010:i:5:p:736-747
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. Scott Walker, 2015. "Repeated Dividend Increases: A Collection of Four Essays," PhD Thesis, Finance Discipline Group, UTS Business School, University of Technology, Sydney, number 2-2015, January-A.
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    6. De Cesari, Amedeo & Huang-Meier, Winifred, 2015. "Dividend changes and stock price informativeness," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 1-17.
    7. Doan, Trang & Iskandar-Datta, Mai, 2020. "Are female top executives more risk-averse or more ethical? Evidence from corporate cash holdings policy," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 161-176.
    8. Eleni Gkeka & Kosmas Kosmidis & Georgios Simitsis, 2018. "The value relevance of dividend announcement: An empirical study of the Greek Stock Market," International Journal of Business and Economic Sciences Applied Research (IJBESAR), Democritus University of Thrace (DUTH), Kavala Campus, Greece, vol. 11(2), pages 44-50, September.
    9. Jitka Hilliard & John S. Jahera & Haoran Zhang, 2019. "The US financial crisis and corporate dividend reactions: for better or for worse?," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 53(4), pages 1165-1193, November.
    10. Heyden, Kim J. & Heyden, Thomas, 2021. "Market reactions to the arrival and containment of COVID-19: An event study," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 38(C).
    11. Kathryn E. Easterday & Pradyot K. Sen, 2023. "Another look at the dividend-price relationship in the accounting valuation framework," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 61(3), pages 879-925, October.
    12. Scott Walker, 2015. "Repeated Dividend Increases: A Collection of Four Essays," PhD Thesis, Finance Discipline Group, UTS Business School, University of Technology, Sydney, number 17, July-Dece.
    13. Anshu Agrawal, 2021. "Impact of Elimination of Dividend Distribution Tax on Indian Corporate Firms Amid COVID Disruptions," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-38, September.
    14. Chen, Zhijuan & Lin, William T. & Ma, Changfeng & Tsai, Shih-Chuan, 2014. "Liquidity provisions by individual investor trading prior to dividend announcements: Evidence from Taiwan," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 358-374.
    15. Ali Bayat & Marc Goergen & Panagiotis Koutroumpis & Xingjie Wei, 2022. "Between Scylla and Charybdis: CEO Political Ideology, Dividends and Downsizing During the Pandemic," Working Papers 936, Queen Mary University of London, School of Economics and Finance.
    16. Ijaz Ali & Noor Muhammad & Ali Gohar, 2017. "Do Firms Use Dividend Changes to Signal Future Earnings? An Investigation Based on Market Rationality," International Journal of Economics and Finance, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 9(4), pages 20-34, April.
    17. Henry, Darren & Nguyen, Lily & Pham, Viet Hung, 2017. "Institutional trading before dividend reduction announcements," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 40-55.
    18. Weiping Li & Xuezhi Zhang & Shuyi Cheng & Xiaohang Ren, 2024. "Clear the air via dividends: Corporates' response to air pollution," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(4), pages 3383-3396, May.
    19. Balachandran, Balasingham & Krishnamurti, Chandrasekhar & Theobald, Michael & Vidanapathirana, Berty, 2012. "Dividend reductions, the timing of dividend payments and information content," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 18(5), pages 1232-1247.

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