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The coverage assignments of financial analysts

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  • Tristan Roger

Abstract

Previous studies document that forecast accuracy impacts analyst career outcomes. This paper investigates the influence of forecast accuracy on coverage assignments. I show that brokerage houses reward accurate analysts by assigning them to high-profile firms and penalise analysts exhibiting poor accuracy by assigning them to smaller firms. The coverage of high-profile firms increases the potential for future compensation linked to investment banking and trading commissions. In addition, covering such firms increases analysts' recognition from buy-side investors, which, in turn, increases the likelihood of obtaining broker votes and votes for the Institutional Investor star ranking. Overall, my results indicate that high forecast accuracy leads to increased future compensation.

Suggested Citation

  • Tristan Roger, 2018. "The coverage assignments of financial analysts," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(6), pages 651-673, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:acctbr:v:48:y:2018:i:6:p:651-673
    DOI: 10.1080/00014788.2017.1416452
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    2. Nigel Barradale & Thomas Plenborg & Simone Staehr, 2022. "Investor feedback: impact on analyst biases and investor critical evaluation," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(1), pages 767-803, March.
    3. Li, Wanyun, 2022. "Disclosure of internal control material weaknesses and optimism in analyst earnings forecasts," International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, Elsevier, vol. 44(C).
    4. Zhenhua Chen & Adrienna Huffman & Gans Narayanamoorthy & Ruizhong Zhang, 2021. "Minimum tick size and analyst coverage: Evidence from the Tick Size Pilot Program," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(3-4), pages 666-691, March.
    5. Guanming He & Helen Mengbing Ren & Richard Taffler, 2020. "The impact of corporate tax avoidance on analyst coverage and forecasts," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 54(2), pages 447-477, February.

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