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Optimal Firm's Dividend and Capital Structure for Mean Reverting Profitability

Author

Listed:
  • Francesco Menoncin
  • Paolo Panteghini
  • Luca Regis

Abstract

We model a risk-averse firm owner who wants to maximize the intertemporal expected utility of firm’s dividends. The optimal dynamic control problem is characterized by two stochastic state variables: the equity value, and profitability (ROA) of the _rm. According to the empirical evi-dence, we let profitability follow a mean reverting process. The problem is solved in a quasi-explicit form by computing both the optimal dividend and the optimal debt. Finally, we calibrate the model to actual US data and check both the properties of the solution and its sensitivity to the model parameters. In particular, our results show that the optimal dividend is smooth over time and that leverage is predominantly constant over time. Neither asymmetric information nor frictions are necessary to obtain these findings.

Suggested Citation

  • Francesco Menoncin & Paolo Panteghini & Luca Regis, 2021. "Optimal Firm's Dividend and Capital Structure for Mean Reverting Profitability," CESifo Working Paper Series 9407, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_9407
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    dividend policy; capital structure; profit mean-reversion; closed-form; stochastic optimization;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H25 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Business Taxes and Subsidies
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • G35 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Payout Policy

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