IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/rmgtin/v7y2004i1p25-40.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Wealth and Information Effects of Insurers' Open Market Stock Repurchase Announcements

Author

Listed:
  • Patricia Born
  • Carmelo Giaccotto
  • Titos Ritsatos

Abstract

This article examines the use of an increasingly popular method of cash disbursement in the insurance industry: stock repurchase programs. Using a sample of stock repurchase announcements between 1981 and 1997, we examine the motivation for stock repurchase, estimate the market reaction to the repurchase announcement, and evaluate the magnitude of the reaction as it relates to particular insurance industry and firm characteristics. We examine the abnormal returns around the announcement day and find a significant positive wealth effect associated with repurchase announcements—a result that is consistent with that of other studies of both nonfinancial and financial firms. However, we suspect that the nature of the insurance product and the highly regulated status of the insurance industry might serve to mitigate the magnitude of an announcement effect. In fact, we find that the effect for all insurers is smaller than that obtained in samples of industrial firms. Finally, we examine the relationships between the magnitude of the announcement effect and various firm characteristics and test the significance of information signaling and Jensen's free cash flow theories in the insurance setting.

Suggested Citation

  • Patricia Born & Carmelo Giaccotto & Titos Ritsatos, 2004. "The Wealth and Information Effects of Insurers' Open Market Stock Repurchase Announcements," Risk Management and Insurance Review, American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 7(1), pages 25-40, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:rmgtin:v:7:y:2004:i:1:p:25-40
    DOI: j.1098-1616.2004.00034.x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1098-1616.2004.00034.x
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/j.1098-1616.2004.00034.x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Brown, Stephen J. & Warner, Jerold B., 1985. "Using daily stock returns : The case of event studies," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 3-31, March.
    2. Myers, Stewart C. & Majluf, Nicholas S., 1984. "Corporate financing and investment decisions when firms have information that investors do not have," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(2), pages 187-221, June.
    3. Stewart C. Myers & Nicholas S. Majluf, 1984. "Corporate Financing and Investment Decisions When Firms Have InformationThat Investors Do Not Have," NBER Working Papers 1396, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Perfect, Steven B. & Peterson, David R. & Peterson, Pamela P., 1995. "Self-tender offers: The effects of free cash flow, cash flow signalling, and the measurement of Tobin's q," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 19(6), pages 1005-1023, September.
    5. Woods, Donald H. & Brigham, Eugene F., 1966. "Stockholder Distribution Decisions: Share Repurchases on Dividends?," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 1(1), pages 15-26, March.
    6. Ikenberry, David & Lakonishok, Josef & Vermaelen, Theo, 1995. "Market underreaction to open market share repurchases," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(2-3), pages 181-208.
    7. Clifford P. Stephens & Michael S. Weisbach, 1998. "Actual Share Reacquisitions in Open-Market Repurchase Programs," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 53(1), pages 313-333, February.
    8. Dann, Larry Y., 1981. "Common stock repurchases : An analysis of returns to bondholders and stockholders," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 9(2), pages 113-138, June.
    9. Jensen, Michael C, 1986. "Agency Costs of Free Cash Flow, Corporate Finance, and Takeovers," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(2), pages 323-329, May.
    10. Vermaelen, Theo, 1981. "Common stock repurchases and market signalling : An empirical study," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 9(2), pages 139-183, June.
    11. Harris, Milton & Raviv, Artur, 1990. "Capital Structure and the Informational Role of Debt," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 45(2), pages 321-349, June.
    12. Howe, Keith M & He, Jia & Kao, G Wenchi, 1992. "One-Time Cash Flow Announcements and Free Cash-Flow Theory: Share Repurchases and Special Dividends," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 47(5), pages 1963-1975, December.
    13. Harold Bierman Jr. & Richard West, 1966. "The Acquisition Of Common Stock By The Corporate Issuer†," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 21(4), pages 687-696, December.
    14. Masulis, Ronald W, 1980. "Stock Repurchase by Tender Offer: An Analysis of the Causes of Common Stock Price Changes," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 35(2), pages 305-319, May.
    15. Edwin Elton & Martin Gruber, 1968. "The Effect Of Share Repurchase On The Value Of The Firm," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 23(1), pages 135-149, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Nicos Scordis, 2020. "A note on risk and value from an underutilized dataset: Consolidated disclosures," Risk Management and Insurance Review, American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 23(1), pages 105-112, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ralf Schremper, 2003. "Kapitalmarktrelevanz deutscher Aktienrückkaufprogramme," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 55(6), pages 578-605, September.
    2. Firth, Michael & Leung, T.Y. & Rui, Oliver M., 2010. "Double signals or single signal? An investigation of insider trading around share repurchases," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 20(4), pages 376-388, October.
    3. Gunnar Bårdsen & Jurgen Doornik & Jan Tore Klovland, 2004. "A European-type wage equation from an American-style labor market: Evidence from a panel of Norwegian manufacturing industries in the 1930s," Working Paper 2004/4, Norges Bank.
    4. Healy, Paul M. & Palepu, Krishna G., 1995. "The challenges of investor communication The case of CUC International, Inc," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 111-140, June.
    5. Jun, Sang-gyung & Jung, Mookwon & Walkling, Ralph A., 2009. "Share repurchase, executive options and wealth changes to stockholders and bondholders," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 212-229, April.
    6. de Jong, Abe & Dutordoir, Marie & Verwijmeren, Patrick, 2011. "Why do convertible issuers simultaneously repurchase stock? An arbitrage-based explanation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(1), pages 113-129, April.
    7. Brav, Alon & Graham, John R. & Harvey, Campbell R. & Michaely, Roni, 2005. "Payout policy in the 21st century," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(3), pages 483-527, September.
    8. George P. Tsetsekos, 1993. "Valuation Effects Of Open Market Stock Repurchases For Financially Weak Firms," Review of Financial Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 2(2), pages 29-42, March.
    9. Lei, Zicheng & Zhang, Chendi, 2016. "Leveraged buybacks," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 242-262.
    10. James C. Brau & Andrew Holmes, 2001. "Using REITs to Extricate the Effect of Managerial Signalling in Open Market Share Repurchase Announcements," ERES eres2001_123, European Real Estate Society (ERES).
    11. Tzu-Yu Liu & Li-Lun Liu & John Francis Diaz, 2016. "Effect of Managerial Overconfidence and Compensation on Share Repurchase: Empirical Evidence from Taiwanese Firms," Asian Academy of Management Journal of Accounting and Finance (AAMJAF), Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia, vol. 12(1), pages 153-179.
    12. Stehle, Richard & Seifert, Udo, 2003. "Stock Performance around Share Repurchase Announcements in Germany," SFB 373 Discussion Papers 2003,48, Humboldt University of Berlin, Interdisciplinary Research Project 373: Quantification and Simulation of Economic Processes.
    13. Nyborg, Kjell G. & Wang, Zexi, 2021. "The effect of stock liquidity on cash holdings: The repurchase motive," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(2), pages 905-927.
    14. Michael C. Jensen, 1987. "The free cash flow theory of takeovers: a financial perspective on mergers and acquisitions and the economy," Conference Series ; [Proceedings], Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, vol. 31, pages 102-148.
    15. Johannes A. Skjeltorp & Bernt Arne Ødegaard, 2004. "The ownership structure of repurchasing firms," Working Paper 2004/7, Norges Bank.
    16. Hussein Abedi Shamsabadi & Byung-Seong Min & Richard Chung, 2016. "Corporate governance and dividend strategy: lessons from Australia," International Journal of Managerial Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 12(5), pages 583-610, October.
    17. Bae, Sung C. & Simet, Daniel P., 1998. "A comparative analysis of leveraged recapitalization versus leveraged buyout as a takeover defense," Review of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 7(2), pages 157-172.
    18. Luís Krug Pacheco & Clara Raposo, 2009. "ON the TIMING of INITIAL STOCK REPURCHASES," Working Papers de Gestão (Management Working Papers) 06, Católica Porto Business School, Universidade Católica Portuguesa.
    19. Mark Mietzner, 2017. "Why do firms decide to stop their share repurchase programs?," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 11(4), pages 815-855, October.
    20. H.Kent Baker & Gary E. Powell & E.Theodore Veit, 2002. "Revisiting the dividend puzzle," Review of Financial Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 11(4), pages 241-261.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:rmgtin:v:7:y:2004:i:1:p:25-40. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=1098-1616 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.