EFFECT OF BONUS ISSUE ON STOCK PRICES OF COMPANIES QUOTED AT THE NAIROBI SECURITIES EXCHANGE

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of bonus issue on stock prices of companies quoted at the Nairobi securities exchangeMethodology: The study adopted an event study methodology since the study was concerned with the establishment of the information content of bonus issue announcement on share performance at the NSE. The population of this study was 61 companies listed in the NSE. A sample size of 10 listed companies was focused on as there were only 10 companies which had issued bonuses between 2009 and 2012. The study used secondary data to gather information. The collected secondary data was coded and entered into Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS, Version 20) for analysisResults: The study findings revealed that there was a drastic incline from year 2009 to year 2010 followed by a slight decrease in abnormal returns in the following years, Abnormal returns present the difference between the actual returns and the expected returns over a certain period of time. Study findings from the market model indicated that the market return is a good predictor of stock returns. ANOVA results indicated that abnormal returns after bonus issue were significantly higher than abnormal returns before bonus issue. ANOVA results also indicated that actual stock returns were significantly higher after bonus issue than before the bonus issuePolicy recommendation: The study recommends the NSE to establish and enhance policies for investing so as to attract and encourage large institutional and foreign investors to participate at the NSE. The study also recommends that policy makers and regulators at the NSE are encouraged to encourage more research on the NSE form of efficiency; this will provide a forum for investors to get the information on the form of efficiency of the market and boost their confidence when investing at the NSE