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CEO opportunism?: Option grants and stock trades around stock splits

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  • Devos, Erik
  • Elliott, William B.
  • Warr, Richard S.

Abstract

Decades of research confirm that, on average, stock split announcements generate positive abnormal returns. In our sample, 80% of CEO stock option grants are timed to occur on or before the split announcement date. With the average market-adjusted announcement return of 3.1%, awarding the grant before the split announcement results in an average gain per CEO-grant of $451,748. We find additional evidence consistent with timing of CEO stock trading around the split announcement. In the case of CEO stock sales, about two-thirds occur after the split announcement, resulting in an average gain of $345,613.

Suggested Citation

  • Devos, Erik & Elliott, William B. & Warr, Richard S., 2015. "CEO opportunism?: Option grants and stock trades around stock splits," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(1), pages 18-35.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jaecon:v:60:y:2015:i:1:p:18-35
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jacceco.2015.02.004
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Erik Devos & William B. Elliott & Richard S. Warr, 2018. "The Propensity to Split and CEO Compensation," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 47(1), pages 105-129, March.
    2. Titman, Sheridan & Wei, Chishen & Zhao, Bin, 2022. "Corporate actions and the manipulation of retail investors in China: An analysis of stock splits," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(3), pages 762-787.
    3. S. Amir Tabibian & Zhaoyong Zhang & Mohsen Jafarian, 2020. "How Does Split Announcement Affect Stock Liquidity? Evidence from Bursa Malaysia," Risks, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-14, August.
    4. Ahmed M. Elnahas & Pankaj K. Jain & Thomas H. McInish, 2018. "Exploring the manipulation toolkit: the failure of Doral Financial Corporation," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(2), pages 157-171, January.
    5. Ahmed M. Elnahas & Pankaj K. Jain & Thomas H. McInish, 2022. "Mixed‐signal stock splits," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(5-6), pages 934-962, May.
    6. Roger, Tristan & Roger, Patrick & Schatt, Alain, 2018. "Behavioral bias in number processing: Evidence from analysts’ expectations," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 315-331.
    7. Sheridan Titman & Chishen Wei. Wei & Bin Zhao, 2021. "Corporate Actions and the Manipulation of Retail Investors in China: An Analysis of Stock Splits," NBER Working Papers 29212, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Altanlar, Ali & Amini, Shima & Holmes, Phil & Eshraghi, Arman, 2023. "Opportunism, overconfidence and irrationality: A puzzling triad," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    9. Rodney D. Boehme & Veljko Fotak & Anthony D. May, 2020. "Seasoned Equity Offerings and Stock Price Crash Risk," International Journal of Finance & Banking Studies, Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 9(4), pages 131-146, October.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Managerial incentives; Executive compensation; Stock splits;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading
    • J33 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Compensation Packages; Payment Methods

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