Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-g7gxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-15T07:08:37.616Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Dividend Growth, Cash Flow, and Discount Rate News

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 October 2012

Ian Garrett
Affiliation:
ian.garrett@mbs.ac.uk, Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, Booth Street West, Manchester M15 6PB, UK
Richard Priestley
Affiliation:
richard.priestley@bi.no, BI Norwegian School of Management, Nydalsveien, N-0442 Oslo, Norway

Abstract

Using a new variable based on a model of dividend smoothing, we find that dividend growth is highly predictable and that cash flow news contributes importantly to return variability. Cash flow betas derived from this predictability are central to explaining the size effect in the cross section of returns. However, they do not explain the value effect; this is explained by noise betas. We also find that the relative importance of cash flow news in explaining recent stock price run-ups and subsequent declines increases when cash flow news is estimated directly.

Type
Research Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Michael G. Foster School of Business, University of Washington 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Andrews, D. W. K. “Tests for Parameter Instability and Structural Change with Unknown Change Point.” Econometrica, 61 (1993), 821856.Google Scholar
Ang, A. “Characterizing the Ability of Dividend Yields to Predict Future Dividends in Log-Linear Present Value Models.” Working Paper, Columbia University (2002).Google Scholar
Ang, A., and Bekaert, G.. “Stock Return Predictability: Is It There?Review of Financial Studies, 20 (2007), 651707.Google Scholar
Benartzi, S.; Michaely, R.; and Thaler, R.. “Do Changes in Dividends Signal the Future or the Past?Journal of Finance, 52 (1997), 10071034.Google Scholar
Brav, A.; Graham, J. R.; Harvey, C. R.; and Michaely, R.. “Payout Policy in the 21st Century.” Journal of Financial Economics, 77 (2005), 483527.Google Scholar
Campbell, J. Y. “A Variance Decomposition for Stock Returns.” Economic Journal, 101 (1991), 157179.Google Scholar
Campbell, J. Y. “Intertemporal Asset Pricing without Consumption Data.” American Economic Review, 83 (1993), 487512.Google Scholar
Campbell, J. Y., and Ammer, J.. “What Moves the Stock and Bond Markets? A Variance Decomposition for Long-Term Asset Returns.” Journal of Finance, 48 (1993), 337.Google Scholar
Campbell, J. Y.; Giglio, S.; and Polk, C.. “Hard Times.” Working Paper, Harvard University (2010).Google Scholar
Campbell, J. Y.; Polk, C.; and Vuolteenaho, T.. “Growth or Glamour? Fundamentals and Systematic Risk in Stock Returns.” Review of Financial Studies, 23 (2010), 305344.Google Scholar
Campbell, J. Y., and Shiller, R. J.. “The Dividend-Price Ratio and Expectations of Future Dividends and Discount Factors.” Review of Financial Studies, 1 (1988), 195228.Google Scholar
Campbell, J. Y., and Vuolteenaho, T.. “Bad Beta, Good Beta.” American Economic Review, 94 (2004), 12491275.Google Scholar
Chen, L.On the Reversal of Return and Dividend Growth Predictability: A Tale of Two Periods.” Journal of Financial Economics, 92 (2009), 128151.Google Scholar
Chen, L.; Da, Z.; and Larrain, B.. “What Moves Aggregate Investment? “ Working Paper, Washington University in St. Louis (2010).Google Scholar
Chen, L.; Da, Z.; and Priestley, R.. “Dividend Smoothing and Predictability.” Working Paper, Norwegian School of Management (2010).Google Scholar
Chen, L., and Zhao, X.. “Return Decomposition.” Review of Financial Studies, 22 (2009), 52135249.Google Scholar
Chen, L., and Zhao, X.. “What Drives Stock Price Movements? “ Working Paper, Washington University in St. Louis (2010).Google Scholar
Cochrane, J. H. “Explaining the Variance of Price-Dividend Ratios.” Review of Financial Studies, 5 (1992), 243280.Google Scholar
Cochrane, J. H. Asset Pricing: Revised Edition. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press (2005), 243280.Google Scholar
Cochrane, J. H. “The Dog That Did Not Bark: A Defense of Return Predictability.” Review of Financial Studies, 21 (2008), 15331575.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cochrane, J. H. “Discount Rates.” Working Paper, University of Chicago (2010).Google Scholar
Dewenter, K. L., and Warther, V. A.. “Dividends, Asymmetric Information, and Agency Conflicts: Evidence from a Comparison of the Dividend Policies of Japanese and U.S. Firms.” Journal of Finance, 53 (1998), 879904.Google Scholar
Engle, R. F., and Granger, C. W.. “Co-Integration and Error Correction: Representation, Estimation, and Testing.” Econometrica, 55 (1987), 251276.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fama, E. F., and Babiak, H.. “Dividend Policy: An Empirical Analysis.” Journal of the American Statistical Association, 63 (1968), 11321161.Google Scholar
Garrett, I., and Priestley, R.. “Dividend Behavior and Dividend Signaling.” Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 35 (2000), 173189.Google Scholar
Goyal, A., and Welch, I.. “Predicting the Equity Premium with Dividend Ratios.” Management Science, 49 (2003), 639654.Google Scholar
Goyal, A., and Welch, I.. “A Comprehensive Look at the Empirical Performance of Equity Premium Prediction.” Review of Financial Studies, 21 (2008), 14551508.Google Scholar
Grullon, G., and Michaely, R.. “Dividends, Share Repurchases, and the Substitution Hypothesis.” Journal of Finance, 57 (2002), 16491684.Google Scholar
Hansen, B. E. “Tests for Parameter Instability in Regressions with I(1) Processes.” Journal of Business and Economic Statistics, 10 (1992), 321335.Google Scholar
Hansen, L. P.; Heaton, J.; and Yaron, A.. “Finite-Sample Properties of Some Alternative GMM Estimators.” Journal of Business and Economic Statistics, 14 (1996), 262280.Google Scholar
Jagannathan, M.; Stephens, C. P.; and Weisbach, M. S.. “Financial Flexibility and the Choice between Dividends and Stock Repurchases.” Journal of Financial Economics, 57 (2000), 355384.Google Scholar
Johansen, S., and Juselius, K.. “Maximum Likelihood Estimation and Inference on Cointegration—With Applications to the Demand for Money.” Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 52 (1990), 169210.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Larrain, B., and Yogo, M.. “Does Firm Value Move Too Much to Be Justified by Subsequent Changes in Cash Flow?Journal of Financial Economics, 87 (2008), 200226.Google Scholar
Lettau, M., and Ludvigson, S. C.. “Consumption, Aggregate Wealth, and Expected Stock Returns.” Journal of Finance, 56 (2001), 815849.Google Scholar
Lettau, M., and Van Nieuwerburgh, S.. “Reconciling the Return Predictability Evidence.” Review of Financial Studies, 21 (2008), 16071652.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lintner, J.Distribution of Incomes of Corporations among Dividends, Retained Earnings, and Taxes.” American Economic Review, 46 (1956), 97113.Google Scholar
Marsh, T. A., and Merton, R. C.. “Dividend Behavior for the Aggregate Stock Market.” Journal of Business, 60 (1987), 140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Merton, R. C. “An Intertemporal Capital Asset Pricing Model.” Econometrica, 41 (1973), 867887.Google Scholar
Miller, M. H., and Rock, K.. “Dividend Policy under Asymmetric Information.” Journal of Finance, 40 (1985), 10311051.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Newey, W. K., and West, K. D.. “A Simple, Positive Semi-Definite, Heteroskedasticity and Autocorrelation Consistent Covariance Matrix.” Econometrica, 55 (1987), 703708.Google Scholar
Vuolteenaho, T.What Drives Firm-Level Stock Returns?Journal of Finance, 57 (2002), 233264.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: PDF

Garrett and Priestely supplementary material

Appendix

Download Garrett and Priestely supplementary material(PDF)
PDF 110.6 KB