Repurchase Announcements Research Articles

The business cycle’s influence on share repurchases of the UK

<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 14pt;">The UK fully legalised open market share repurchases in 1981, and to our knowledge no study has investigated the business cycle’s influence on repurchase decision-making. We address this aspect and investigate the period 1985-2014. This is relevant as the business cycle factors impact the firm-specific variables such as cash flow, profitability, dividends and capital structure, and these factors traditionally influence repurchase decisions. This forms the paper’s theoretical intuition, and the empirical objectives test the business cycle’s influence on the decision to undertake a repurchase, and also its influence on repurchases values. The results find that the business cycle influences both the decision of undertaking repurchases and repurchases’ values, and this influence has aggregately remained positively associated with economic prosperity. Thus, the frequency of repurchase announcements by British firms is more probable during prosperous economic circumstances. The results also reveal that the repurchase-business cycle relationship witnessed a structural break in 1996:Q2, and the real difference following this break is the increase in the business cycle’s influence on the decision regarding repurchase values. The paper thus contributes to existing literature by directly testing the UK’s repurchase-business cycle relationship, and providing detailed empirical evidences that business cycle conditions strongly impact the repurchase decision-making.</span></p>

Family performance following share repurchases, information asymmetry and interest alignment

Little attention has been paid to how the information asymmetry, agency costs of free cash flow and the controller involvement in the board contribute to the difference in the performance between family and non-family firms following share repurchase announcements. This study aims to make clear the above associations. This study uses OLS multiple regressions to examine the difference in the operating and market performance between family and non-family firms over two years following the repurchase announcements in a sample that contains 3800 announcements over the period 2000 and 2017. We find that family firms have better performance than non-family firms. We also find that free cash flow is positively associated with performance, and the association between performance and free cash flow is weaker for family firms than for non-family firms. Furthermore, these findings become increasingly significant when family controllers have a lower degree of involvement. Our results indicate that family firms, especially those with a lower degree of controller involvement, prefer repurchases to mitigate information asymmetry and increase interest alignment.

Announcement effect of tender offer share buyback around turmoil period – evidence from India

The announcement of a buyback informs the market about the company’s decision to repurchase its own shares. This announcement highlights the company’s price valuation and the inefficiencies that exist in the market. This study examines the share buyback announcement effect during the COVID-19 period. The study considered the stocks listed in the National Stock Exchange (NSE) that offered share buyback under tender offer mode during the pre-pandemic period between April 2016 and February 2020 and the post-pandemic period between March 2020 and March 2022. 75 firms in the pre-pandemic period and 43 in the post-pandemic period that announced share buyback under the tender offer method were analyzed. The event study methodology using a market model was employed to determine the presence of abnormal returns during the event period, which consisted of –21 days and +21 days. The findings of the study revealed the existence of abnormal returns in and around the announcement date. Besides, statistically significant cumulative abnormal average returns (CAAR) were also found on the event day, i.e., on Day 0. The study found that the impact of buyback announcements on stock returns significantly differed before and after COVID-19 for 10 and 21-day periods, with no significant differences for shorter periods. These insights can help traders and fund managers make informed portfolio adjustments during turbulent market periods surrounding buyback announcements. AcknowledgementThe authors express their sincere gratitude and special thanks to Dr. Krishna T.A., Assistant Professor, Department of Professional Studies, School of Commerce, Finance and Accountancy, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bangalore, India, for encouraging, motivating and providing all the required support throughout this empirical investigation and to accomplish this research task.

The beguiling behaviour of narcissistic CEOs: Evidence from repurchase announcements

AbstractWe study whether Chief Executive Officer (CEO) narcissism affects a firm's share repurchase announcements and their implementations. Using signature characteristics as a measure of narcissism, we find that US firms with narcissist CEOs are more likely to make repurchase announcements and announce higher repurchase dollar amounts. However, these firms are less likely to follow through. Actual repurchases by these firms are less frequent, and they use a smaller amount of cash for share buyback because they have a higher cashflow sensitivity of cash. Narcissist CEOs’ repurchase announcements are less driven by market timing and have a lower announcement effect compared to those by other CEOs. The higher rate and amount of repurchase announcements are more pronounced in poorly governed firms with narcissistic CEOs. These results are robust to various specifications including a difference‐in‐difference set‐up using CEOs’ exogenous turnover, controlling for other CEO traits and using an alternative measure of narcissism based on pronoun usage in CEO communications. Collectively, the results presented in this study demonstrate that narcissist CEOs play a critical role in the intensity of share repurchase announcements and their executions, particularly for firms with weaker governance structures.

Why do undervalued firms repurchase shares? Evidence based on the market-timing effect in China

It is puzzling that few undervalued firms in China make repurchase announcements despite the value-adding motive of share repurchases. Inspired by this conundrum, this study explores the market-timing effect of repurchase signaling. Our sample consists of A-share listed firms that made stock repurchase announcements in China between 2005 and 2019, as well as their comparable peers obtained through the Mahalanobis distance matching. Changes in market indices before and after the repurchase announcements are used to measure overall market timing, followed by regression analyses. We find a positive relationship between post-announcement price reactions and market performance measures, suggesting that firms time repurchase announcements based on historical pricing information as well as overall market trends. We further propose that firms' timing capabilities are honed through attention to the capital market, which significantly increases the willingness to announce repurchase plans. Our findings help to explain why firms in China with undervalued shares make repurchase announcements.

Do Prior Financial Events to Share Repurchase Announcements Matter?

This study examines the effects of share repurchase announcements on Taiwanese firms after various financial practices and decisions from 2000 to 2020. First, we discuss whether there is a significant abnormal return on the price around share repurchase announcement. Furthermore, we explore whether firms take advantage of buyback announcements to signal the outsiders that the company’s stock price is undervalued. Second, we discuss whether the repurchase announcements have abnormal returns after financing or dividend distribution decisions as companies implement these decisions in response to future operating plans. Further, we explore whether there is a conflict between these funding operation policies and the repurchase announcement. According to our results, there is an opposing effect between seasoned equity offering and share repurchase announcements. We found the effect of the announcement of share repurchase after a cash dividend is better than a stock dividend. The results also show that the effect of a share repurchase announcement after the issuance of convertible bonds is better than an ordinary corporate bond issue, especially the firms with a low market-to-book ratio. It means that convertible bonds can reduce liabilities if the investors convert the debt into equity and improve the company’s capital structure. JEL Codes: G14, G30

Ethical Issues Around Share Repurchase Announcements: The Role of Social Capital

Ethical Issues Around Share Repurchase Announcements: The Role of Social Capital

MISLEADING OR BENEFICIAL? ASSESSING THE EXPLOITATION POTENTIAL OF STOCK BUYBACK ANNOUNCEMENTS IN THE MALAYSIAN STOCK MARKET

In the traditional sense, stock buyback announcements are generally perceived as advantageous news. However, with the evolution of the capital market, some scholars argue that such declarations possess the potential for exploitation as a means to artificially inflate stock prices, thereby deceiving investors. Consequently, within the framework of the Efficient Market Hypothesis and the Theory of Asymmetric Information, we employed an event study approach to empirically investigate 30 listed companies in Malaysia that announced stock buybacks in the before June 2022. To fortify the robustness of our research findings, we employed Market Model and the Fama-French Three-Factor Model to estimate Average Abnormal Returns and Cumulative Average Abnormal Returns. The outcomes indicate that stock buyback announcements are still regarded as favorable news in the Malaysian stock market, bestowing investors with significant positive average cumulative abnormal returns. Nevertheless, the Malaysian capital market may witness premature leakage of stock buyback information, thereby accentuating the existence of information asymmetry. We contend that corporate leadership can harness stock buyback announcements as a mechanism to stabilize stock prices and infuse confidence in investors. Concurrently, market regulators should augment transparency and regulatory measures to ensure fairness among all market participants.

The Market Reaction to Repurchase Announcements

This paper investigates the drivers of the market’s reaction to share repurchase announcements in the UK and the related abnormality in stock performance. It uniquely captures the impact of globalisation in tandem with a variety of firm-level and macro-level determinants. We undertake multivariate OLS regression to test the determinants of the market’s reaction and find a negative influence when repurchases are tax-friendlier than dividends if there is high debt exposure and economic globalisation is rising, with a positive influence when the company has a history of distributing above average dividends. To quantify the short-term price abnormality, we employ event study analysis, and the findings compute positive (insignificant) stock price abnormality for nonfinancial (financial) firms. For long-term stock price abnormality, we compare against the FTSE 100 by computing annual geometric stock performances. The findings indicate a negative (insignificant) stock price abnormality for nonfinancial (financial) firms. The results can aid corporate management in improving repurchase timing, aid in the decision making of financial practitioners when trading or investing in repurchasing firms, and assist policymakers in mapping more efficient fiscal and cross-market trade frameworks.

The Determinants of Implementing and Completing Share Repurchases

Open-market repurchase is a popular corporate payout method that public limited company (PLCs) use, and once they have made this decision an announcement is made. However, the announcement does not necessarily mean that the firm will implement the payout, or if it is initiated that they will buy back the entire announced volume of shares. Thus, using a sample of firms listed on the London Stock Exchange that announced an open-market repurchase between 1993 and 2014, we test the determinants of repurchase implementation using probit regressions, and if their influence also extends to the payout’s completion using Tobit regressions. The results are not identical in nature, but largely indicate a consistency between the influence patterns. Positive influences are exhibited by firm leverage, the balance sheet’s asset base, independent directors and the repurchase’s tax efficiency over dividends. Additionally, the volume of shares announced for repurchasing has a positive influence on the payout’s implementation, but not its completion, while market capitalisation has a positive influence on the payout’s completion, but not its implementation. The findings are most useful for financial practitioners to optimise their portfolio following a repurchase announcement.

Wealth Effects of Share Repurchase Decision of IPO Firms: Evidence from India

The present study shades light on the short-term wealth effects of the share repurchase decision of Indian IPO firms on their stock prices. For the years 2000–2019, the sample considers the IPO companies who announce buybacks within 5 years after their listing. By evaluating short-term fluctuations in stock prices around the buyback announcement date, wealth effects have been quantified using the event study approach. According to our empirical investigation, investors responded favourably to the news and produced positive 1.13% nonsignificant abnormal returns on the event day. Further investigation finds that these companies likewise endure erratic stock performance in the days that follow the announcement, with the exception of the day when they actually purchase back their shares, which produced positive and significant abnormal returns to investors of 0.92%. Also, over the event window, the results are positive at 10.69% and significant. Our results show that investors favourably view share repurchase by IPO firms and can regard it as a sound investment strategy. This study also adds to the scanty literature about newly listed firms’ payout preferences.

What do market participants learn from share repurchases? Evidence from a return decomposition

This paper analyzes cash flow and cost of capital dynamics around share repurchase announcements of publicly traded US firms by decomposing stock returns into news related to cash flows and discount rates. After repurchase announcements, the cost of capital decreases significantly, while cash flows do not change. The decrease in the cost of capital is largest for firms that appear underpriced. These firms also experience the highest long-term returns after repurchase announcements. The findings suggest that market participants learn about a temporary overestimation of the cost of capital when firms announce share repurchases.

Does a Chairperson's military experience promote share repurchase? Evidence from Chinese listed companies

Although some studies have suggested that executives' military experience affects corporate decisions, whether and how it is associated with share repurchases is less well understood. Using a data set of 10,960 firm-year observations from A-share listed firms between 2005 and 2019, we found that firms run by military chairpersons are more likely to announce and implement share repurchases. In addition, we found the short-run abnormal returns of share repurchase announcements to be less favourable in firms with military chairpersons. The findings are best explained by the overconfidence hypothesis, which holds that military chairpersons are prone to overconfidence and perceive their firm's stocks as underpriced. We also found that the positive effect of chairpersons' military experiences on share repurchases is more pronounced when they have longer tenure. Moreover, we found that the involvement of grassroots committees of the Chinese Communist Party in firm decision-making could effectively restrain military chairpersons' overconfidence bias.

The effect of asymmetric information disappears: Evidence in share repurchases and market efficiency

This article aims to measure the wealth effect centered on stock repurchase announcements in U.S. companies and combine it with the concept of market efficiency, which means that information can be fully disclosed and circulated. We find that the higher the market efficiency, the lower the information asymmetry between internal managers and external investors and the lower the company opacity, resulting in the disappearance of abnormal returns after stock repurchases. Furthermore, we show that when market uncertainty decreases, the lower the information asymmetry opacity, the lower the abnormal returns after stock repurchases. Our findings have important policy implications for governments and investors.

Open repurchase announcements and abnormal returns of Indian firms: An industry-wise analysis

Although the tender offer buyback method has gained significance over time, many companies still prefer open market repurchases. The existing literature focuses mainly on the impact of buyback announcements, specifically on stock returns; however, buyback announcements and abnormal returns in the case of open market repurchases have not yet been studied in detail, especially across industries in the Indian context. This study, therefore, attempts to analyze the impact of open market repurchase announcements on the stock returns of Indian firms. To that end, the event study methodology has been used for a period of 31 days, i.e. 15 days prior to and 15 days after the buyback announcement on a filtered sample of 100 firms during the period 2010–2020. The results of the study indicate that the returns were more favorable in the short run. The findings do not support the undervaluation rationale of firms behind the open buyback statement. The low-profit opportunities in the prior event window convey investors’ predictions about the repurchase announcement. In the context of industries, the manufacturing sector seemed to be far better than IT & telecom, chemical, and pharma firms as the returns were statistically significant for five (5) out of 31 days. The industry-specific results also suggest that the profit opportunities are majorly in the pre-announcement phase. The overall findings corroborate that share repurchases might be irrelevant to shareholders’ wealth. Therefore, open market buybacks may support decisions related to capital structure changes. AcknowledgmentThe infrastructural support provided by the FORE School of Management, New Delhi in completing this paper is gratefully acknowledged.

The Beguiling Behaviour of Narcissistic CEOs: Evidence from Repurchase Announcements

The Beguiling Behaviour of Narcissistic CEOs: Evidence from Repurchase Announcements

Ethical Issues Around Share Repurchase Announcements: the Role of Social Capital

Ethical Issues Around Share Repurchase Announcements: the Role of Social Capital

Stock buybacks and credit default swap spread changes

The authors investigate whether the effects of stock buyback announcements on credit default swap (CDS) spread changes for US firms depend on macroeconomic conditions. The authors find that abnormal CDS spreads increase for small-sized firms announced to repurchase a higher share ratio during the normal period. In contrast, abnormal CDS spreads decrease for big-sized firms regardless of the magnitude of the repurchase ratio during the crisis period. The results of this study suggest that the wealth transfer effect dominates the signaling effect for small-sized firms with higher target ratios during the normal period. In contrast, the signaling effect is stronger for bondholders of big-sized firms during the crisis period.

Stock repurchasing and corporate social responsibility

Stock repurchases are controversial. Researchers often view the positive association between free cash flow and the volume of the stock repurchases to be in the shareholders’ interest and the positive association between executive options and stock repurchases to be in the managers’ interest. Using firms’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) ratings as a measure of ethical culture—one that increases the cost of self-serving behavior for managers— we examine whether a firm’s CSR rating is related to its stock repurchase decisions. Although the baseline regression shows a positive association between CSR and repurchases, we find that CSR amplifies the positive association between free cash flow and stock repurchases and lessens the positive association between executive options and stock repurchases. These results indicate that ethical culture might play a role in repurchase decisions: it may encourage repurchases aligned with shareholders’ interests and discourage those primarily in managers’ interest. Furthermore, we also find that high CSR firms are associated with a greater completion rate of announced repurchase programs and receive more favorable stock market reaction to their repurchase announcements.

REAKSI PASAR ATAS PENGUMUMAN BUYBACK SAHAM PADA SAAT PANDEMI COVID-19 DI BURSA EFEK INDONESIA

This study aims to determine whether the market reaction to the announcement of share buybacks has a positive effect during the covid-19 pandemic. The population of this research is 68 companies. The sampling technique used purposive sampling method, the samples obtained were 60 companies. The proxy in measuring market reaction uses cumulative abnormal return (CAR). The data analysis technique used is descriptive analysis, one sample t-test. The market reacted negatively at the time of the announcement of the stock buyback, before the event and after the event. This situation is different from normal conditions if investors receive good information then the market will react positively. The Covid-19 outbreak has made market conditions uncertain, resulting in a decline in IHSG. Information on share buyback announcements and capital information issued by companies to conduct share buybacks is good information or positive information, but the information has little effect compared to the impact of covid-19 and has not been able to give confidence to investors.