Evidence-based Stock Price Behaviour Around Cash Dividend Announcements in an Emerging Market Set-up

Abstract

This article examines how stock prices behave following cash dividend announcements in the Indian equity market considering 3,671 cash dividend announcements during the period 2012–2019, using both aggregate-level and firm-level analysis. Further, the study investigates the factors that lead to the generation of abnormal gain or loss following dividend announcements. We found that cash dividend announcements generate abnormal stock returns in the Indian equity market immediately after the dividend announcement. However, this impact persists for a very short spell, and after that, the stock prices normalize gradually. Results also show that firms with a higher promoter shareholding gain less on dividend announcements. The empirical evidence of this study thinly supports the information signalling theory and dividend clientele theory in the Indian market.