Chasing Dividends during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Working Paper SES no 520

16 Pages Posted: 27 Oct 2020

See all articles by Nicolas Eugster

Nicolas Eugster

University of Queensland - Business School

Dušan Isakov

University of Fribourg (Switzerland) - Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences

Romain Ducret

University of Fribourg (Switzerland) - Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences

Jean-Philippe Weisskopf

EHL Hospitality Business School

Date Written: September 24, 2020

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the trading behavior of investors around ex-dividend dates in Europe. The sudden decrease in the number of companies paying dividends reduced the opportunities to capture dividends. The firms that have maintained dividend payments during the pandemic thus attracted more interest than before. This led to a doubling in the magnitude of stock return patterns usually observed around ex-dividend days. Our evidence indicates that dividend-seeking investors are likely to be the main driver of the price patterns observed around ex-dividend dates.

Keywords: COVID-19, dividend capture, price pressure, ex-dividend date, event study

JEL Classification: G12, G14, G35

Suggested Citation

Eugster, Nicolas and Isakov, Dušan and Ducret, Romain and Weisskopf, Jean-Philippe, Chasing Dividends during the COVID-19 Pandemic (September 24, 2020). Working Paper SES no 520, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3716174 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3716174

Nicolas Eugster (Contact Author)

University of Queensland - Business School ( email )

Brisbane, Queensland 4072
Australia

Dušan Isakov

University of Fribourg (Switzerland) - Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences ( email )

Fribourg, CH 1700
Switzerland

HOME PAGE: http://www3.unifr.ch/cgf/en/

Romain Ducret

University of Fribourg (Switzerland) - Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences ( email )

Fribourg, CH 1700
Switzerland

HOME PAGE: http://www3.unifr.ch/cgf/en/

Jean-Philippe Weisskopf

EHL Hospitality Business School ( email )

Route de Cojonnex 18
Lausanne, 1000
Switzerland

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