IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/eneeco/v112y2022ics0140988322003218.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

What do we know about the idiosyncratic risk of clean energy equities?

Author

Listed:
  • Roy, Preeti
  • Ahmad, Wasim
  • Sadorsky, Perry
  • Phani, B.V.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic stimulated the need to invest in clean energy firms for better returns and climate risk mitigation. This study provides a detailed overview of the impact of idiosyncratic risk (IVOL) on excess returns of 95 clean energy stocks. Overall, investors in clean energy stocks are guided by the pessimist group of investors who underprice the high IVOL stocks and demand high-risk premiums to diversify the firm-specific risk. Further, during the COVID-19 period, there is no significant relationship between clean energy excess stock returns and IVOL. During this period, clean energy stocks were exposed to higher information asymmetry, limiting the arbitrage opportunities and producing a weaker return-IVOL relation indicating that clean energy stocks reflect the properties of technology stocks. IVOL has a low level of persistence which may be helpful in forecasting. This study offers valuable insights for regulators and investors from the investment decisions, asset pricing, and diversification perspective.

Suggested Citation

  • Roy, Preeti & Ahmad, Wasim & Sadorsky, Perry & Phani, B.V., 2022. "What do we know about the idiosyncratic risk of clean energy equities?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:112:y:2022:i:c:s0140988322003218
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eneco.2022.106167
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140988322003218
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.eneco.2022.106167?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
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lopatta, Kerstin & Kaspereit, Thomas, 2014. "The cross-section of returns, benchmark model parameters, and idiosyncratic volatility of nuclear energy firms after Fukushima Daiichi," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 125-136.
    2. Sadorsky, Perry, 2012. "Modeling renewable energy company risk," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 39-48.
    3. Ahmad, Wasim & Kutan, Ali M. & Gupta, Smarth, 2021. "Black swan events and COVID-19 outbreak: Sector level evidence from the US, UK, and European stock markets," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 546-557.
    4. Kocaarslan, Baris & Soytas, Ugur, 2019. "Dynamic correlations between oil prices and the stock prices of clean energy and technology firms: The role of reserve currency (US dollar)," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    5. Qadan, Mahmoud & Shuval, Kerem, 2022. "Variance risk and the idiosyncratic volatility puzzle," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 45(C).
    6. Ang, Andrew & Hodrick, Robert J. & Xing, Yuhang & Zhang, Xiaoyan, 2009. "High idiosyncratic volatility and low returns: International and further U.S. evidence," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(1), pages 1-23, January.
    7. Vivian, Andrew & Wohar, Mark E., 2012. "Commodity volatility breaks," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 22(2), pages 395-422.
    8. Bali, Turan G. & Cakici, Nusret, 2008. "Idiosyncratic Volatility and the Cross Section of Expected Returns," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 43(1), pages 29-58, March.
    9. Ahmed, Mohamed S. & Alhadab, Mohammad, 2020. "Momentum, asymmetric volatility and idiosyncratic risk-momentum relation: Does technology-sector matter?," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 355-371.
    10. Scott R. Baker & Nicholas Bloom & Steven J. Davis, 2016. "Measuring Economic Policy Uncertainty," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 131(4), pages 1593-1636.
    11. Ali, Syed Riaz Mahmood & Hasan, Mohammad Nurul & Östermark, Ralf, 2020. "Are idiosyncratic risk and extreme positive return priced in the Indian equity market?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 530-545.
    12. Brian Boyer & Todd Mitton & Keith Vorkink, 2010. "Expected Idiosyncratic Skewness," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 23(1), pages 169-202, January.
    13. Umar, Muhammad & Farid, Saqib & Naeem, Muhammad Abubakr, 2022. "Time-frequency connectedness among clean-energy stocks and fossil fuel markets: Comparison between financial, oil and pandemic crisis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 240(C).
    14. Lee, Cheuk Wing & Zhong, Jin, 2015. "Financing and risk management of renewable energy projects with a hybrid bond," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 779-787.
    15. Henriques, Irene & Sadorsky, Perry, 2008. "Oil prices and the stock prices of alternative energy companies," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 998-1010, May.
    16. Wasim Ahmad & Shirin Rais, 2018. "Time-Varying Spillover and the Portfolio Diversification Implications of Clean Energy Equity with Commodities and Financial Assets," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(8), pages 1837-1855, June.
    17. Merton, Robert C, 1987. "A Simple Model of Capital Market Equilibrium with Incomplete Information," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 42(3), pages 483-510, July.
    18. Amit Goyal & Pedro Santa-Clara, 2003. "Idiosyncratic Risk Matters!," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 58(3), pages 975-1008, June.
    19. Bai, Lan & Liu, Yuntong & Wang, Qian & Chen, Chen, 2019. "Improving portfolio performance of renewable energy stocks using robust portfolio approach: Evidence from China," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 533(C).
    20. Ahmad, Wasim & Kutan, Ali M. & Chahal, Rishman Jot Kaur & Kattumuri, Ruth, 2021. "COVID-19 Pandemic and firm-level dynamics in the USA, UK, Europe, and Japan," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    21. Qadan, Mahmoud & Kliger, Doron & Chen, Nir, 2019. "Idiosyncratic volatility, the VIX and stock returns," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 431-441.
    22. Fama, Eugene F. & French, Kenneth R., 2015. "A five-factor asset pricing model," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(1), pages 1-22.
    23. Ahmad, Wasim, 2017. "On the dynamic dependence and investment performance of crude oil and clean energy stocks," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 376-389.
    24. Bohl, Martin T. & Kaufmann, Philipp & Stephan, Patrick M., 2013. "From hero to zero: Evidence of performance reversal and speculative bubbles in German renewable energy stocks," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 40-51.
    25. Andrew Ang & Robert J. Hodrick & Yuhang Xing & Xiaoyan Zhang, 2006. "The Cross‐Section of Volatility and Expected Returns," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(1), pages 259-299, February.
    26. Sadorsky, Perry, 2012. "Correlations and volatility spillovers between oil prices and the stock prices of clean energy and technology companies," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 248-255.
    27. Robert F. Stambaugh & Jianfeng Yu & Yu Yuan, 2015. "Arbitrage Asymmetry and the Idiosyncratic Volatility Puzzle," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 70(5), pages 1903-1948, October.
    28. Fernandez-Perez, Adrian & Fuertes, Ana-Maria & Miffre, Joëlle, 2016. "Is idiosyncratic volatility priced in commodity futures markets?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 219-226.
    29. Shahzad, Syed Jawad Hussain & Bouri, Elie & Kayani, Ghulam Mujtaba & Nasir, Rana Muhammad & Kristoufek, Ladislav, 2020. "Are clean energy stocks efficient? Asymmetric multifractal scaling behaviour," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 550(C).
    30. Matteo P. Arena & K. Stephen Haggard & Xuemin (Sterling) Yan, 2008. "Price Momentum and Idiosyncratic Volatility," The Financial Review, Eastern Finance Association, vol. 43(2), pages 159-190, May.
    31. Alok Kumar, 2009. "Who Gambles in the Stock Market?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 64(4), pages 1889-1933, August.
    32. Kumar, Surender & Managi, Shunsuke & Matsuda, Akimi, 2012. "Stock prices of clean energy firms, oil and carbon markets: A vector autoregressive analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 215-226.
    33. Bondia, Ripsy & Ghosh, Sajal & Kanjilal, Kakali, 2016. "International crude oil prices and the stock prices of clean energy and technology companies: Evidence from non-linear cointegration tests with unknown structural breaks," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 558-565.
    34. Fu, Fangjian, 2009. "Idiosyncratic risk and the cross-section of expected stock returns," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(1), pages 24-37, January.
    35. Lin, Mei-Chen & Lin, Yu-Ling, 2021. "Idiosyncratic skewness and cross-section of stock returns: Evidence from Taiwan," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    36. Hemrit, Wael & Benlagha, Noureddine, 2021. "Does renewable energy index respond to the pandemic uncertainty?," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 336-347.
    37. Song, Yingjie & Ji, Qiang & Du, Ya-Juan & Geng, Jiang-Bo, 2019. "The dynamic dependence of fossil energy, investor sentiment and renewable energy stock markets," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    38. Reboredo, Juan C. & Ugolini, Andrea, 2018. "The impact of Twitter sentiment on renewable energy stocks," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 153-169.
    39. Borri, Nicola, 2019. "Conditional tail-risk in cryptocurrency markets," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 1-19.
    40. Fama, Eugene F & French, Kenneth R, 1992. "The Cross-Section of Expected Stock Returns," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 47(2), pages 427-465, June.
    41. Ma, Yan-Ran & Zhang, Dayong & Ji, Qiang & Pan, Jiaofeng, 2019. "Spillovers between oil and stock returns in the US energy sector: Does idiosyncratic information matter?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 536-544.
    42. Shefrin, Hersh, 2008. "A Behavioral Approach to Asset Pricing," Elsevier Monographs, Elsevier, edition 2, number 9780123743565.
    43. Pham, Linh, 2019. "Do all clean energy stocks respond homogeneously to oil price?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 355-379.
    44. Carhart, Mark M, 1997. "On Persistence in Mutual Fund Performance," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 52(1), pages 57-82, March.
    45. Kazemilari, Mansooreh & Mardani, Abbas & Streimikiene, Dalia & Zavadskas, Edmundas Kazimieras, 2017. "An overview of renewable energy companies in stock exchange: Evidence from minimal spanning tree approach," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 102(PA), pages 107-117.
    46. David Aboody & Baruch Lev, 2000. "Information Asymmetry, R&D, and Insider Gains," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 55(6), pages 2747-2766, December.
    47. Hilliard, Jitka & Zhang, Haoran, 2015. "Size and price-to-book effects: Evidence from the Chinese stock markets," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 40-55.
    48. Wan, Xiaoyuan, 2018. "Is the idiosyncratic volatility anomaly driven by the MAX or MIN effect? Evidence from the Chinese stock market," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 1-15.
    49. Maghyereh, Aktham I. & Awartani, Basel & Abdoh, Hussein, 2019. "The co-movement between oil and clean energy stocks: A wavelet-based analysis of horizon associations," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 895-913.
    50. Inchauspe, Julian & Ripple, Ronald D. & Trück, Stefan, 2015. "The dynamics of returns on renewable energy companies: A state-space approach," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 325-335.
    51. Shao, Liuguo & Zhang, Hua, 2020. "The impact of oil price on the clean energy metal prices: A multi-scale perspective," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    52. Christie, Andrew A., 1982. "The stochastic behavior of common stock variances : Value, leverage and interest rate effects," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 10(4), pages 407-432, December.
    53. Amit Goyal & Pedro Santa‐Clara, 2003. "Idiosyncratic Risk Matters!," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 58(3), pages 975-1007, June.
    54. Lintner, John, 1969. "The Valuation of Risk Assets and the Selection of Risky Investments in Stock Portfolios and Capital Budgets: A Reply," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 51(2), pages 222-224, May.
    55. William F. Sharpe, 1964. "Capital Asset Prices: A Theory Of Market Equilibrium Under Conditions Of Risk," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 19(3), pages 425-442, September.
    56. Qadan, Mahmoud, 2019. "Risk appetite, idiosyncratic volatility and expected returns," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    57. Choong Tze Chua & Jeremy Goh & Zhe Zhang, 2010. "Expected Volatility, Unexpected Volatility, And The Cross‐Section Of Stock Returns," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 33(2), pages 103-123, June.
    58. Ahmad, Wasim & Sadorsky, Perry & Sharma, Amit, 2018. "Optimal hedge ratios for clean energy equities," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 278-295.
    59. Uddin, Gazi Salah & Rahman, Md Lutfur & Hedström, Axel & Ahmed, Ali, 2019. "Cross-quantilogram-based correlation and dependence between renewable energy stock and other asset classes," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 743-759.
    60. Wan, Daoxia & Xue, Rui & Linnenluecke, Martina & Tian, Jinfang & Shan, Yuli, 2021. "The impact of investor attention during COVID-19 on investment in clean energy versus fossil fuel firms," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    61. Titman, Sheridan & John Wei, K. C. & Xie, Feixue, 2013. "Market Development and the Asset Growth Effect: International Evidence," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 48(5), pages 1405-1432, October.
    62. Levy, Haim, 1978. "Equilibrium in an Imperfect Market: A Constraint on the Number of Securities in the Portfolio," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 68(4), pages 643-658, September.
    63. Zhang, Hao & Cai, Guixin & Yang, Dongxiao, 2020. "The impact of oil price shocks on clean energy stocks: Fresh evidence from multi-scale perspective," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    64. Guidolin, Massimo & Ricci, Andrea, 2020. "Arbitrage risk and a sentiment as causes of persistent mispricing: The European evidence," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 1-11.
    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. Ahmed, Walid M.A. & Sleem, Mohamed A.E., 2023. "Short- and long-run determinants of the price behavior of US clean energy stocks: A dynamic ARDL simulations approach," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    2. R. L. N. Murthy & Hardeep Singh Mundi, 2023. "Stock Return Synchronicity and Profitability: Evidence from India," Paradigm, , vol. 27(1), pages 47-59, June.
    3. Michael D. Plante, 2023. "Investing in the Batteries and Vehicles of the Future: A View Through the Stock Market," Working Papers 2314, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, revised 25 Mar 2024.
    4. Chishti, Muhammad Zubair & Sinha, Avik & Zaman, Umer & Shahzad, Umer, 2023. "Exploring the dynamic connectedness among energy transition and its drivers: Understanding the moderating role of global geopolitical risk," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    5. Srivastava, Praveen Ranjan & Mangla, Sachin Kumar & Eachempati, Prajwal & Tiwari, Aviral Kumar, 2023. "An explainable artificial intelligence approach to understanding drivers of economic energy consumption and sustainability," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    6. Pham, Linh & Hao, Wei & Truong, Ha & Trinh, Hai Hong, 2023. "The impact of climate policy on U.S. environmentally friendly firms: A firm-level examination of stock return, volatility, volume, and connectedness," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).

    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. Ahmed, Walid M.A. & Sleem, Mohamed A.E., 2023. "Short- and long-run determinants of the price behavior of US clean energy stocks: A dynamic ARDL simulations approach," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    2. Son, Nguyen Truong & Nguyen, Nhat Minh, 2019. "Prospect theory value and idiosyncratic volatility: Evidence from the Korean stock market," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 21(C), pages 113-122.
    3. Kocaarslan, Baris & Soytas, Ugur, 2021. "Reserve currency and the volatility of clean energy stocks: The role of uncertainty," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    4. Adam Zaremba & Jacob Koby Shemer, 2018. "Price-Based Investment Strategies," Springer Books, Springer, number 978-3-319-91530-2, November.
    5. Matteo Foglia & Eliana Angelini, 2020. "Volatility Connectedness between Clean Energy Firms and Crude Oil in the COVID-19 Era," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-22, November.
    6. Bai, Jennie & Bali, Turan G. & Wen, Quan, 2021. "Is there a risk-return tradeoff in the corporate bond market? Time-series and cross-sectional evidence," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(3), pages 1017-1037.
    7. Czapkiewicz, Anna & Wójtowicz, Tomasz & Zaremba, Adam, 2023. "Idiosyncratic risk and cross-section of stock returns in emerging European markets," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    8. Tan, Xueping & Geng, Yong & Vivian, Andrew & Wang, Xinyu, 2021. "Measuring risk spillovers between oil and clean energy stocks: Evidence from a systematic framework," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    9. Qadan, Mahmoud, 2019. "Risk appetite, idiosyncratic volatility and expected returns," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    10. Aboulamer, Anas & Kryzanowski, Lawrence, 2016. "Are idiosyncratic volatility and MAX priced in the Canadian market?," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 20-36.
    11. Urom, Christian & Mzoughi, Hela & Ndubuisi, Gideon & Guesmi, Khaled, 2022. "Directional predictability and time-frequency spillovers among clean energy sectors and oil price uncertainty," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 326-341.
    12. Si Mohammed, K. & Mellit, A., 2023. "The relationship between oil prices and the indices of renewable energy and technology companies based on QQR and GCQ techniques," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 209(C), pages 97-105.
    13. Zhong, Angel, 2018. "Idiosyncratic volatility in the Australian equity market," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 105-125.
    14. Zhaobo Zhu & Wenjie Ding & Yi Jin & Dehua Shen, 2023. "Dissecting the Idiosyncratic Volatility Puzzle: A Fundamental Analysis Approach," Post-Print hal-04194180, HAL.
    15. Ayadi, Mohamed A. & Cao, Xu & Lazrak, Skander & Wang, Yan, 2019. "Do idiosyncratic skewness and kurtosis really matter?," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    16. Zhou, Wei & Gu, Qinen & Chen, Jin, 2021. "From volatility spillover to risk spread: An empirical study focuses on renewable energy markets," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 329-342.
    17. Qadan, Mahmoud & Kliger, Doron & Chen, Nir, 2019. "Idiosyncratic volatility, the VIX and stock returns," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 431-441.
    18. Çelik, İsmail & Sak, Ahmet Furkan & Höl, Arife Özdemir & Vergili, Gizem, 2022. "The dynamic connectedness and hedging opportunities of implied and realized volatility: Evidence from clean energy ETFs," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    19. Fernanda Fuentes & Rodrigo Herrera, 2020. "Dynamics of Connectedness in Clean Energy Stocks," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-19, July.
    20. Guo, Hui & Qiu, Buhui, 2014. "Options-implied variance and future stock returns," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 93-113.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Clean energy stocks; Idiosyncratic risk; Systematic risk; Asset mispricing; COVID-19;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G10 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - General (includes Measurement and Data)
    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • Q42 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Alternative Energy Sources

    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:eee:eneeco:v:112:y:2022:i:c:s0140988322003218. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/eneco .

    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.