Investor Heterogeneity, Investor-Management Disagreement, and Share Repurchases
Review of Financial Studies 26(10), p2453-2491, 2013
64 Pages Posted: 31 Mar 2013 Last revised: 16 Dec 2014
Date Written: April 1, 2013
Abstract
This paper develops and tests a new theoretical explanation for why a firm conducts open-market and privately-negotiated stock repurchases. Investors may disagree with the manager about the firm’s investment projects. A repurchase causes a change in the investor base as investors who are more likely to disagree with the manager tender their shares. This model leads to the following predictions. First, a firm is more likely to buy back shares when the level of investor-management agreement is lower. Second, the level of agreement improves following a repurchase. Third, once the stock price and investor-management agreement are controlled for, dispersion of opinion among investors cannot explain repurchase activity. Our empirical tests provide strong support for these predictions. The results are robust to controls for information asymmetry and other factors that may drive a firm’s share repurchase decision. Overall, the evidence is consistent with firms strategically using repurchases to improve alignment between management and shareholders.
Keywords: stock repurchase, corporate payout, agreement, investor heterogeneity
JEL Classification: G30, G35
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?
Recommended Papers
-
Who Makes Acquisitions? CEO Overconfidence and the Market's Reaction
-
On the Evolution of Overconfidence and Entrepreneurs
By Antonio E. Bernardo and Ivo Welch
-
Market Timing and Managerial Portfolio Decisions
By Dirk Jenter
-
Behavioral Corporate Finance: A Survey
By Malcolm P. Baker, Richard S. Ruback, ...
-
Behavioral Corporate Finance: A Survey
By Malcolm P. Baker, Richard S. Ruback, ...
-
Behavioral Corporate Finance: A Survey
By Malcolm P. Baker, Richard S. Ruback, ...