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The Effects Of Stock Distributions On Returns, Volatility, And Price, Jason Heavilin

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This Dissertation investigates three issues regarding the effects of stock distributions on returns, volatility, and prices in an attempt to answer the questions why firms execute stock distributions and why the market appears to favor them. These questions have occupied academicians for at least 40 years (i.e., Fama et al (1969), Ohlson and Penman (1985), Rankine and Stice (1997), Angel (1997), and Crawford et al (2005) among many others).

Chapter 1 studies the notion that the stock market reacts more positive to stock dividends than to stock splits (Rankine and Stice, 1997). However, I find that the stock market does …

Essays On Authorized Shares, Stock Splits, And Top-Up Options, Hilmi Songur

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This Dissertation consists of two separate but broadly related essays investigating the role of authorized shares in corporate events. In the first essay, I examine the relation between management's power to issue new shares of stock and stock split abnormal announcement returns. I posit that the mechanical reduction in excess authorized shares (EAS) caused by a stock split, decreases management's power to issue stock. I argue that this results in lower agency costs and thereby increases shareholder's value. After controlling for other factors, and consistent with my hypothesis, I find that the pre-split ratio of unissued authorized shares to total …