Actual Share Repurchases, Price Efficiency, and the Information Content of Stock Prices
Review of Financial Studies, 30 (1), 324-362, 2017.
87 Pages Posted: 8 Oct 2014 Last revised: 14 Mar 2017
Date Written: October 26, 2015
Abstract
We examine the impact of actual share repurchases on stock prices using several measures of price efficiency and manually collected data on U.S. repurchases. We find that share repurchases make prices more efficient and reduce idiosyncratic risk. Further analyses reveal that the effects are primarily driven by repurchases in down markets. We conclude that share repurchases help to maintain accurate stock prices by providing price support at fundamental values. We find no evidence that managers use share repurchases to manipulate stock prices when selling their equity holdings or exercising stock options.
Keywords: Share repurchases, market efficiency, price efficiency, liquidity
JEL Classification: G10, G30, G35
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation