IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/intfin/v35y2015icp69-84.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Analyst earnings forecast under complex corporate ownership in China

Author

Listed:
  • Huang, Wei
  • Wright, Brian

Abstract

This paper investigates stock analysts’ earnings forecasts under complex corporate ownership in China. Based on a sample of 1298 firms for years 2004–2011, our evidence suggests that state shareholding is negatively related to the quality of consensus analysts’ earnings forecasts. In particular, it is associated with stronger upward bias, and larger ‘inaccuracy’. We also show that higher percentages of tradable shares, A-shares, block tradable shareholdings, and institutional shareholdings improve forecast quality. Further robustness tests suggest block shareholding, irrespective of the shareholder type (state/tradable/institutional), is associated with lower probabilities of downward forecast revisions later in the year.

Suggested Citation

  • Huang, Wei & Wright, Brian, 2015. "Analyst earnings forecast under complex corporate ownership in China," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 69-84.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:intfin:v:35:y:2015:i:c:p:69-84
    DOI: 10.1016/j.intfin.2015.01.003
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1042443115000049
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.intfin.2015.01.003?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

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Brown, Lawrence D., 1993. "Earnings forecasting research: its implications for capital markets research," International Journal of Forecasting, Elsevier, vol. 9(3), pages 295-320, November.
    2. Bekaert, Geert & Harvey, Campbell R., 2003. "Emerging markets finance," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 10(1-2), pages 3-56, February.
    3. Watts, Rl & Leftwich, Rw, 1977. "Time-Series Of Annual Accounting Earnings," Journal of Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 15(2), pages 253-271.
    4. Lau, Chung-Ming & Fan, Dennis K.K. & Young, Michael N. & Wu, Shukun, 2007. "Corporate governance effectiveness during institutional transition," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 16(4), pages 425-448, August.
    5. Brown, Ld & Richardson, Gd & Schwager, Sj, 1987. "An Information Interpretation Of Financial Analyst Superiority In Forecasting Earnings," Journal of Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(1), pages 49-67.
    6. James H. Stock & Mark W. Watson, 2008. "Heteroskedasticity-Robust Standard Errors for Fixed Effects Panel Data Regression," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 76(1), pages 155-174, January.
    7. Zimmerman, Jerold L., 1983. "Taxes and firm size," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 5(1), pages 119-149, April.
    8. Wei, Zuobao & Xie, Feixue & Zhang, Shaorong, 2005. "Ownership Structure and Firm Value in China's Privatized Firms: 1991–2001," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 40(1), pages 87-108, March.
    9. Firth, Michael & Fung, Peter M.Y. & Rui, Oliver M., 2007. "How ownership and corporate governance influence chief executive pay in China's listed firms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 60(7), pages 776-785, July.
    10. Tong, Wilson H.S. & Zhang, Shaojun & Zhu, Yanjian, 2013. "Trading on inside information: Evidence from the share-structure reform in China," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(5), pages 1422-1436.
    11. Admati, Anat R & Pfleiderer, Paul & Zechner, Josef, 1994. "Large Shareholder Activism, Risk Sharing, and Financial Market Equilibrium," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 102(6), pages 1097-1130, December.
    12. Brown, Lawrence D., 1993. "Reply to commentaries on "Earnings forecasting research: its implications for capital markets research"," International Journal of Forecasting, Elsevier, vol. 9(3), pages 343-344, November.
    13. Xu, Nianhang & Chan, Kam C. & Jiang, Xuanyu & Yi, Zhihong, 2013. "Do star analysts know more firm-specific information? Evidence from China," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 89-102.
    14. Moshirian, Fariborz & Ng, David & Wu, Eliza, 2009. "The value of stock analysts' recommendations: Evidence from emerging markets," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 18(1-2), pages 74-83, March.
    15. Kothari, S. P., 2001. "Capital markets research in accounting," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(1-3), pages 105-231, September.
    16. Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W, 1986. "Large Shareholders and Corporate Control," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(3), pages 461-488, June.
    17. Huang, Juan Juan & Shen, Yifeng & Sun, Qian, 2011. "Nonnegotiable shares, controlling shareholders, and dividend payments in China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 122-133, February.
    18. Hong Zou & Mike B Adams, 2008. "Corporate ownership, equity risk and returns in the People's Republic of China," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 39(7), pages 1149-1168, October.
    19. Spyros Makridakis & Robert L. Winkler, 1983. "Averages of Forecasts: Some Empirical Results," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 29(9), pages 987-996, September.
    20. Yiming Hu & Thomas Lin & Siqi Li, 2008. "An examination of factors affecting Chinese financial analysts’ information comprehension, analyzing ability, and job quality," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 30(4), pages 397-417, May.
    21. Ang, James S. & Ma, Yulong, 1999. "Transparency in Chinese stocks: A study of earnings forecasts by professional analysts," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 7(2), pages 129-155, May.
    22. Arellano, M, 1987. "Computing Robust Standard Errors for Within-Groups Estimators," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 49(4), pages 431-434, November.
    23. Berkman, Henk & Cole, Rebel A. & Fu, Lawrence J., 2009. "Expropriation through loan guarantees to related parties: Evidence from China," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 141-156, January.
    24. Richardson, Scott & Tuna, Irem & Wysocki, Peter, 2010. "Accounting anomalies and fundamental analysis: A review of recent research advances," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2-3), pages 410-454, December.
    25. Myers, Stewart C, 1984. "The Capital Structure Puzzle," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 39(3), pages 575-592, July.
    26. Truong, Cameron, 2011. "Post-earnings announcement abnormal return in the Chinese equity market," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 21(5), pages 637-661.
    27. Ke, Bin & Ramalingegowda, Santhosh, 2005. "Do institutional investors exploit the post-earnings announcement drift?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 25-53, February.
    28. Li, Shaomin & Vertinsky, Ilan & Zhou, Dongsheng, 2004. "The emergence of private ownership in China," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 57(10), pages 1145-1152, October.
    29. Qi, Daqing & Wu, Woody & Zhang, Hua, 2000. "Shareholding structure and corporate performance of partially privatized firms: Evidence from listed Chinese companies," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 8(5), pages 587-610, October.
    30. Yuan, Rongli & Xiao, Jason Zezhong & Zou, Hong, 2008. "Mutual funds' ownership and firm performance: Evidence from China," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(8), pages 1552-1565, August.
    31. Belev, Boyan, 2003. "Institutional investors in Bulgarian corporate governance reform: obstacles or facilitators?," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 361-374, November.
    32. Guy S. Liu & Pei Sun, 2005. "The Class of Shareholdings and its Impacts on Corporate Performance: a case of state shareholding composition in Chinese public corporations," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(1), pages 46-59, January.
    33. Attig, Najah & Guedhami, Omrane & Mishra, Dev, 2008. "Multiple large shareholders, control contests, and implied cost of equity," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 14(5), pages 721-737, December.
    34. Jay C. Hartzell & Laura T. Starks, 2003. "Institutional Investors and Executive Compensation," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 58(6), pages 2351-2374, December.
    35. Brown, Philip, 1993. "Comments on 'Earnings forecasting research: its implications for capital markets research' by L. Brown," International Journal of Forecasting, Elsevier, vol. 9(3), pages 331-335, November.
    36. Ramnath, Sundaresh & Rock, Steve & Shane, Philip, 2008. "The financial analyst forecasting literature: A taxonomy with suggestions for further research," International Journal of Forecasting, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 34-75.
    37. Byard, Donal & Li, Ying & Weintrop, Joseph, 2006. "Corporate governance and the quality of financial analysts' information," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 25(5), pages 609-625.
    38. Xu, Xiaonian & Wang, Yan, 1999. "Ownership structure and corporate governance in Chinese stock companies," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 10(1), pages 75-98.
    39. Dennis K.K. Fan & Gladie M.C. Lui & Raymond W. So, 2005. "The Effects of Foreign Equity Ownership on Earnings Forecasts in China," Chinese Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(2), pages 36-55, March.
    40. Abdel-khalik, A. Rashad & Wong, Kie Ann & Wu, Annie, 1999. "The Information Environment of China's A and B Shares: Can We Make Sense of the Numbers?," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 467-489, 010.
    41. Albrecht, Ws & Lookabill, Ll & Mckeown, Jc, 1977. "Time-Series Properties Of Annual Earnings," Journal of Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 15(2), pages 226-244.
    42. Barniv, Ran, 2009. "Does foreign investor demand for information affect forecast accuracy? Evidence from the Chinese stock markets," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 101-118.
    43. Haß, Lars Helge & Vergauwe, Skrålan & Zhang, Qiyu, 2014. "Corporate governance and the information environment: Evidence from Chinese stock markets," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 106-119.
    44. Liu, Qigui & Tian, Gary, 2012. "Controlling shareholder, expropriations and firm's leverage decision: Evidence from Chinese Non-tradable share reform," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 18(4), pages 782-803.
    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. Rui Ye & Saeed Heravi & Jason Xiao, 2024. "Market Institutions, Fair Value, and Financial Analyst Forecast Accuracy," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 60(1), pages 130-171, March.
    2. Huang, Wei, 2016. "The use of management forecasts to dampen analysts' expectations by Chinese listed firms," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 263-272.
    3. Wei Huang & Agyenim Boateng & Alexander Newman, 2016. "Capital structure of Chinese listed SMEs: an agency theory perspective," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 47(2), pages 535-550, August.
    4. Li, Shi & Wu, Chaopeng & Yang, Shijie, 2021. "Affiliated block shareholders and analyst optimism," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    5. Liao, Jing & Malone, Chris & Young, Martin, 2016. "Politicians, insiders and non-tradable share reform decisions in China," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 58-73.

    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. Lin, Yongjia Rebecca & Fu, Xiaoqing Maggie, 2017. "Does institutional ownership influence firm performance? Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 17-57.
    2. Higgins, Huong, 2013. "Can securities analysts forecast intangible firms’ earnings?," International Journal of Forecasting, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 155-174.
    3. Yuan, Rongli & Xiao, Jason Zezhong & Zou, Hong, 2008. "Mutual funds' ownership and firm performance: Evidence from China," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(8), pages 1552-1565, August.
    4. Lin, Tsui-Jung & Tsai, Han-Fang & Imamah, Nur & Hung, Jung-Hua, 2016. "Does the identity of multiple large shareholders affect the value of excess cash? Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 40(PA), pages 173-190.
    5. Liu, Sun, 2017. "The impact of equity incentive plans on analysts’ earnings forecasts and stock recommendations for Chinese listed firms: An empirical study," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 1-13.
    6. S. P. Kothari & Charles Wasley, 2019. "Commemorating the 50‐Year Anniversary of Ball and Brown (1968): The Evolution of Capital Market Research over the Past 50 Years," Journal of Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 57(5), pages 1117-1159, December.
    7. Kun Tracy Wang & Greg Shailer, 2018. "Does Ownership Identity Matter? A Meta‐analysis of Research on Firm Financial Performance in Relation to Government versus Private Ownership," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 54(1), pages 1-35, March.
    8. Huang, Wei, 2016. "The use of management forecasts to dampen analysts' expectations by Chinese listed firms," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 263-272.
    9. Barniv, Ran, 2009. "Does foreign investor demand for information affect forecast accuracy? Evidence from the Chinese stock markets," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 101-118.
    10. repec:grz:wpsses:2020-04 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Po‐Chang Chen & Ganapathi S. Narayanamoorthy & Theodore Sougiannis & Hui Zhou, 2020. "Analyst underreaction and the post‐forecast revision drift," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(9-10), pages 1151-1181, October.
    12. Ramnath, Sundaresh & Rock, Steve & Shane, Philip, 2008. "The financial analyst forecasting literature: A taxonomy with suggestions for further research," International Journal of Forecasting, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 34-75.
    13. Harris, Richard D.F. & Wang, Pengguo, 2019. "Model-based earnings forecasts vs. financial analysts' earnings forecasts," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(4), pages 424-437.
    14. Agyenim Boateng & XiaoGang Bi & Sanjukta Brahma, 2017. "The impact of firm ownership, board monitoring on operating performance of Chinese mergers and acquisitions," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 49(4), pages 925-948, November.
    15. Ruei-Shian Wu & Hsiou-wei W. Lin, 2014. "Security analysts' incentive and cognitive processing bias: evidence from analysts' recommendations," Asia-Pacific Journal of Accounting & Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(4), pages 443-471, December.
    16. Jung, Jay Heon & Pae, Jinhan & Yoo, Choong-Yuel, 2015. "Do analysts treat winners and losers differently when forecasting earnings?," International Journal of Forecasting, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 531-549.
    17. Du, Kai, 2019. "Investor expectations, earnings management, and asset prices," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 134-157.
    18. Mohamed Naceur Mahjoubi & Ezzeddine Abaoub, 2015. "Earnings Response Coefficient as a Measure of Market Expectations: Evidence from Tunis Stock Exchange," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 5(2), pages 377-389.
    19. Chan, Ann Ling-Ching & Ding, Rong & Hou, Wenxuan, 2014. "Does mutual fund ownership affect financial reporting quality for Chinese privately-owned enterprises?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 131-140.
    20. Lambert, David & Matolcsy, Zoltan & Wyatt, Anne, 2015. "Analysts' earnings forecasts and technological conditions in the firm's investment environment," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 11(2), pages 104-120.
    21. Fink, Josef, 2021. "A review of the Post-Earnings-Announcement Drift," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • G15 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - International Financial Markets
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • M41 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Accounting

    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:intfin:v:35:y:2015:i:c:p:69-84. 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/intfin .

    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.