Determinants of Dividend Payout: Evidence from listed Oil and Gas Companies of Pakistan

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the determinants of dividend payout of Oil and Gas industry of Pakistan using secondary data from published annual reports from 2008 to 2014 listed on KSE (Karachi Stock Exchange). Dividend payout can be affected by profitability, firm size, financial leverage, sales growth, investment opportunities, liquidity, business risk, and ownership structure. Panel data technique used due to panel characteristics of available data with ordinary least square regression model to find out the impact of set of explanatory variables on the dividend payout using the Stata. Financial leverage, sales growth and business risks are the most significant variables of the study where financial leverage and business risk have significant negative effect on dividend payout while sales growth has favorable positive impact on dividend payout. Results revealed significant positive link of profitability and firm size with dividend payout whereas government ownership is negatively associated with dividend payout. Investment opportunities, liquidity and managerial ownership showed insignificant relationship with dividend payout. This Suggests that dividend payout policy is dependent on business strategies including both investment and financing decisions. Financial managers should consider these factors while formulating dividend policy of the firm.