THE RELATION AMONG DIVIDEND POLICY,FIRM SIZE,AND THE INFORMATION CONTENT OF EARNINGS ANNOUNCEMENTS

In this paper we investigate the role of dividends in explaining the size effect. The previous literature concludes that before the firm's earnings announcement, small firm stock prices impound less information than large firm stock prices. This size effect is evidenced by the greater market reaction to small firm earnings announcements than to large firm earnings announcements. We find that if the dividend announcement precedes the earnings announcement, no size effect exists. The implication is that the information conveyed by dividend announcements includes the information conveyed to investors in large firms by other information sources. However, if the firm does not pay dividends or if the firm's earnings announcement precedes its dividend announcement, the size effect exists. The implication is that dividends do not completely explain the size effect. That is, there are information sources other than dividends that are exclusively available to investors in large firms, and the information provided by these sources is reflected in the stock price of large firms before the earnings announcement.     

水信息披露、机构投资者与股价同步性

基于2010-2016年中国A股高水敏感行业的322家上市公司数据,实证检验水信息披露对股价同步性的影响,以及机构投资者的调节效应。研究表明：水信息披露对股价同步性的影响呈倒U型,且在民营企业样本中尤其显著。在国有企业样本中,机构投资者的加入能促使水信息披露更好地融入股价;在民营企业样本中,只有在高水信息披露水平下,机构投资者才能更好地发挥调节作用。     

年报可读性对分析师盈余预测的影响

利用2010—2017年上市公司A股相关数据,本文研究了企业年报文本信息可读性对分析师盈余预测的影响。研究发现,企业年报文本信息可读性越低,分析师关注水平、预测质量也越低。进一步研究发现,较高的机构投资者持股水平能够显著缓解年报可读性对分析师关注的影响,但是没有发现机构投资者持股改善分析师预测质量的证据。高质量的审计以及高水平的信息披露质量评级可以改善企业的信息环境,从而有效缓解年报文本信息可读性对分析师盈余预测的影响。研究结论为企业年报文本信息可读性影响资本市场信息解读和传播效率提供了证据,有助于监管部门重视企业年报文本信息披露监管法律法规的制定和完善。     

信息透明度对资本配置效率的影响——来自中国制造业上市公司的经验证据

以2001~2012年沪深两市A股制造业上市公司为研究样本,借鉴Wurgler的资源配置效率估算模型,从盈余管理角度探讨了中国现实制度背景下信息透明度对资本配置效率的影响。实证结果表明,无论是在行业层面还是公司层面,信息透明度与资本配置效率均呈显著的正相关关系,其中以修正的DD模型衡量的盈余管理解释力度最强。进一步采用深交所信息披露考评结果作为稳健性检验的替代指标,结论依然不变。可见,改善上市公司盈余质量,提高信息透明度,是正确引导证券市场资本有效配置的关键。     

Short sales constraints and price adjustments to earnings announcements: Evidence from the Hong Kong market

This study examines how short sales constraints affect the stock price adjustment to the release of public information in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Using a unique feature of this market that allows us to directly investigate the impact of short sales restriction, we find the following. First, non-shortable stocks react more strongly to the publication of negative information than shortable stocks do. Second, non-shortable stocks are overpriced before negative earnings announcements. Hence, part of the strong market reaction of non-shortable stocks on announcement day could be due to the correction of such overpricing. Third, the prices of non-shortable stocks reverse following the announcement of negative information, suggesting that investors overreact to negative information on announcement day. Fourth, it takes longer for the prices of non-shortable stocks to adjust to negative earnings information. On the whole, our results support the research that finds short sales restrictions reduce the efficiency of stock markets.     

个人大股东持股与股价暴跌风险

本文以2007至2016年中国A股上市公司为样本,考察了个人大股东持股与股价暴跌风险之间的关系。研究发现:第一,个人大股东持股比例的增加能够显著降低公司未来股价暴跌风险。这一结论在剔除了个人大股东中董监高持股数量、进行内生性处理、更换不同统计检验方法后依然成立。第二,个人大股东持股对公司管理层监督的效果并不明显,个人大股东持股比例的增加对于公司应计盈余管理、真实盈余管理、投资效率、过度投资等可能影响公司股价暴跌风险的经营指标并没有显著影响。第三,个人大股东的持股加强了公司股权制衡的力度,进而显著降低了公司股价暴跌风险。股权制衡机制解释了大股东持股对股价暴跌风险一半以上的影响。本文的研究对于全面认识个人大股东在资本市场中发挥的作用,促进股市平稳发展具有重要的理论和现实意义。     

Financial Analysts' Earnings Forecast Dispersion and Intraday Stock Price Variability Around Quarterly Earnings Announcements

This study investigates the relationship between the dispersion of analysts' earnings forecasts and stock price variability around quarterly earnings announcements. Consistent with theoretical predictions, the empirical analysis shows that stock price variability at the time of earnings announcements is positively related to the degree of analysts' predisclosure earnings forecast dispersion. Additionally, firms with high levels of forecast dispersion exhibit significant increases in price variability for longer periods prior to and following earnings announcements than do firms with low levels of forecast dispersion. These results suggest that there is information about the earnings announcement that becomes available to at least a subset of investors prior to the earnings release and that market participants take different amounts of time to process the information conveyed by the earnings announcement.     

Earnings characteristics and analysts’ differential interpretation of earnings announcements: An empirical analysis

This study provides empirical evidence on factors that drive differential interpretation of earnings announcements. We document that Kandel and Pearson's forecast measures of differential interpretation are decreasing in proxies for earnings quality and pre‐announcement information quality. This evidence yields new and useful insights regarding which earnings announcements are less likely to generate newfound disagreement among analysts and investors. Recent research suggests that investor disagreement can increase investment risk, increase the cost of capital, and cause stock prices to deviate from fundamental value. Therefore, our results support prior intuition that increasing the quality of earnings and pre‐announcement information can improve the efficiency of capital markets.     

投资者异质后验信念对股票价格影响的实证研究

过度自信程度不同的投资者因消息确认精度差异引起意见分歧,产生异质后验信念,导致投资者对股价高估或者低估。在此基础上,以盈余公告信息作为利好或利空消息,研究不同环境下异质后验信念对我国股票价格的影响。实证结果表明:不管在牛市还是在熊市环境下,异质后验信念均会对股价产生影响,当盈余公告为利好消息时,异质后验信念程度越高,当期股价被高估的程度越显著;当盈余公告为利空消息时,异质后验信念程度越高,当期股价被低估的程度越显著。此外,在盈余公告前投资者就对盈余消息作出了反映,但对好消息与坏消息的反映程度不同。     

市场操纵降低了中国股票市场的信息效率吗——来自沪市A股高频交易数据的经验证据

本文以尾市交易操纵为研究对象,尝试对中国股票市场可疑的尾市操纵行为进行识别与监测,并基于监测结果实证分析市场操纵如何影响市场信息效率。具体来看,本文利用沪市A股2013-2018年的日内高频交易数据,基于股票尾市交易相关指标异常变化特征,构建了尾市交易操纵识别模型,实证检验了市场操纵对信息效率的影响。研究结果表明,市场操纵对信息效率存在不利影响,市场操纵后股票流动性和股票波动性的异常变化是影响信息效率的关键传导路径,上述结论在考虑内生性问题后依然稳健。此外,研究还发现,国有企业、上市公司信息披露质量较高的情形下,市场操纵对信息效率不利影响程度较小。     

Private and public disclosures and the efficiency of stock prices

In this paper I examine the effects of private and public disclosures on the informational efficiency of stock prices. In addition to making a public announcement such as an earnings announcement, a public firm can make private disclosure to an analyst. If the analyst's relative information advantage is below a threshold level, private disclosure to the analyst leads to more efficient stock price. I demonstrate that the allocation of information across market participants is an important determinant of price efficiency. While accounting regulators often argue the need for equal access to information, the paper shows that there are conditions under which a limited amount of informational inequality may lead to more efficient stock prices.     

The use of accounting information for the valuation of dual-class shares listed on China's stock markets

This study examines whether accounting data are useful in helping explain the market value of listed firms in China. In particular, we focus our investigation on companies that have issued dual-class shares sold to domestic investors (A-shares) and foreigners (B-shares). Domestic accounting standards (DAS) are used for the financial statements of A-shares while international accounting standards (IAS) are used for B-shares. Our results show that IAS earnings information is incorporated in the prices and returns of B-shares. In contrast, A-share investors appear to place most weight on DAS earnings and only recently has there been an association with IAS information. Book values are value relevant for B-share prices but not for A-share prices. Sensitivity tests show that accounting information is more likely to be impounded in share prices and returns for firms with high individual (i.e. non-government) share ownership. Based on our results, we argue that China's move towards the adoption of IAS will be useful for A-share investors, especially in light of the country's recent accession to the WTO and the consequent opening-up of the economy.     

投资者关注与市场反应——来自中国证券交易所交易公开信息的自然实验

涨停的股票能否被交易公开信息披露取决于收益率排名中的随机因素,与股票的基本面特征无关。本文利用这一机制设计自然实验检验了投资者关注对股价的影响。实证结果显示交易公开信息披露使股票受到投资者更多的关注,增加了小额资金的净流入,减少了大额资金的净流入和股价的短期收益率,抑制了股价短期波动率,同时降低了股价在长期发生反转的可能性。频繁登上交易公开信息的知名营业部买入的股票受到更多关注,相应的市场反应也更加显著。进一步的研究表明监管性信息披露引发的投资者关注通过降低市场信息不对称抑制了股价反转。     

Insider trading,future earnings,and post-earnings announcement drift

This paper examines the association between insider trading prior to quarterly earnings announcements and the magnitude of the post-earnings announcement drift (PEAD). We conjecture and find that insider trades reflect insiders’ private information about the persistence of earnings news. Thus, insider trades can help investors better understand and incorporate the time-series properties of quarterly earnings into stock prices in a timely and unbiased manner, thereby mitigating PEAD. As predicted, PEAD is significantly lower when earnings announcements are preceded by insider trading. The reduction in PEAD is driven by contradictory insider trades (i.e., net buys before large negative earnings news or net sells before large positive earnings news) and is more pronounced in the presence of more sophisticated market participants. Consistent with investors extracting and trading on insiders’ private information, pre-announcement insider trading is associated with smaller market reactions to future earnings news in each of the four subsequent quarters. Overall, our findings indicate insider trading contributes to stock price efficiency by conveying insiders’ private information about future earnings and especially the persistence of earnings news.     

Dynamic and frequency-domain spillover among economic policy uncertainty,stock and housing markets in China

This study examines the dynamic characteristics of information spillover effect among economic policy uncertainty (EPU), stock and housing markets in China's first-, second- and third-tier cities. To measure return and volatility spillovers over time and across frequencies simultaneously, the researchers utilize the time-frequency connectedness network approach developed by Baruník and Křehlík (2018). The empirical findings suggest that return and volatility spillovers are stronger in the longer period (more than 3 months) than in the shorter period (1 to 3 months). In the short term, second and third-tier cities are net transmitters of information spillovers, while in the long term, first-tier cities, EPU, and stock markets are the net information transmitters. Furthermore, the long-term information from the EPU and stock market affect most of the real estate markets for different tier cities. Additionally, market segmentation reveals the city-specific characteristics of China's real estate market, especially the close connections between first-tier cities and the stock market. These results have important empirical implications for real estate policymakers and investors when they make related short or long-term decisions.     

Effects of Preannouncements on Analyst and Stock Price Reactions to Earnings News

This study examines the effects of earnings preannouncements on financial analyst and stock price reactions to earnings news. Prior experimental research documents that when the signs of a preannouncement surprise and subsequent earnings announcement surprise are consistent (i.e., both either positive or negative), analysts make larger magnitude revisions to their future period earnings forecasts in response to the total earnings news conveyed in the preannouncement and earnings announcement than when the surprise signs are inconsistent. This study extends this research by examining a sample of actual preannouncements from 1993–1997 to determine whether the effects documented in laboratory settings manifest at the aggregate market level in stock prices and consensus analyst forecast revisions. Results indicate that after controlling for the sign of earnings news, sign of earnings, and sign of the earnings announcement surprise, stock prices and analyst forecast revisions respond more strongly when a preannouncement and subsequent earnings announcement elicit the same surprise signs than when the surprise signs are inconsistent. Further analysis indicates that the consistency of the signs of a preannouncement surprise and earnings announcement surprise is not associated with future earnings, suggesting that the magnified reaction of investors and analysts to consistent surprise signs is not a rational reaction to associations observed in market settings.     

Price Discovery and Dissemination of Private Information by Loan Syndicate Participants

We delineate key channels through which flows of confidential information to loan syndicate participants impact the dynamics of information arrival in prices. We isolate the timing of private information flows by estimating the speed of price discovery over quarterly earnings cycles in both secondary syndicated loan and equity markets. We identify borrowers disseminating private information to lenders relatively early in the cycle with firms exhibiting relatively early price discovery in the secondary loan market, documenting that price discovery is faster for loans subject to financial covenants, particularly earnings‐based covenants; for borrowers who experience covenant violations; for borrowers with high credit risk; and for loans syndicated by relationship‐based lenders or highly reputable lead arrangers. We then ask whether early access to private information in the loan market accelerates the speed of information arrival in stock prices. We document that the stock returns of firms identified with earlier private information dissemination to lenders indeed exhibit faster price discovery in the stock market, but only when institutional investors are involved in the firm's syndicated loans. Further, the positive relation between institutional lending and the speed of stock price discovery is more pronounced in relatively weak public disclosure environments. These results are consistent with institutional lenders systematically exploiting confidential syndicate information via trading in the equity market.     

Institutional Investor Participation and Stock Market Anomalies

This paper investigates the impact of institutional trading volume on stock market anomalies. The paper proposes a measure that evaluates the percentage of total trading volume of a stock accounted for by institutional trades. The empirical analyses using a large sample of firms from 1980–2005 provide strong evidence that the strength of stock market anomalies such as price momentum, post‐earnings announcement drift, the value premium, and the investment anomaly is decreasing in institutional trading volume. Additionally, the effects of institutional trading volume are stronger than those of institutional ownership, the major measure of institutional investor participation in the finance literature. These findings suggest that institutional trading significantly improves stock price efficiency.     

网络关注度对我国股票市场信息不对称程度的影响

以2013-2016年391支股票的360搜索指数中的投资者关注度和媒体关注度的指数作为网络关注度度量指标,同时基于股票市场交易数据采用多种信息不对称计算方法构建了信息不对称性度量指标,并进一步构造了信息不对称主成分综合指标。通过建立横截面回归模型,探究投资者和媒体关注度对我国股票市场的信息不对称程度的影响作用。实证分析及稳健性检验结果表明：投资者关注度的增加会减少知情交易及信息不透明程度,从而减少了股票市场的信息不对称程度,提高了股票市场的流动性;媒体关注度对不同的信息不对称性度量指标的影响存在着不一致性。本研究通过探索投资者关注度及媒体关注度在新兴市场中的应用,对于我国证券市场监管层制定政策以及对于普通投资者优化投资策略都具有重要的参考意义。     

Weather,institutional investors and earnings news

We examine how pre-announcement weather conditions near a firm's major institutional investors affect stock market reactions to firms' earnings announcements. We find that unpleasant weather experienced by institutional investors leads to more delayed market responses to subsequent earnings news. Moreover, unpleasant weather of institutional investors is associated with higher earnings announcement premia. The influence of institutional investors' weather is robust after controlling for New York City weather, extreme weather conditions, and firm local weather. Additional cross-sectional evidence suggests that the strength of this weather effect is related to institutional investors' trading behavior.