The dividend puzzle is a concept in finance in which companies that pay dividends are rewarded by investors with higher valuations, even though, according to many economists, it should not matter to investors whether a firm pays dividends or not.

What do we know about the dividend puzzle A literature survey?

The analysis of literature review detects that no general consensus has yet been reached after many decades of investigation, despite extensive debate and countless research. Consequently, the main motivation for paying dividends is still unsolved and thus remains as a puzzle.

Why might a rational investor invest in the stock of a company that pays no dividend?

Reasons to Buy Stocks Without Dividends Thus, investors who buy stocks that do not pay dividends prefer to see these companies reinvest their earnings to fund other projects. They hope these internal investments will yield higher returns via a rising stock price.

What are the arguments for paying dividends?

Five of the primary reasons why dividends matter for investors include the fact they substantially increase stock investing profits, provide an extra metric for fundamental analysis, reduce overall portfolio risk, offer tax advantages, and help to preserve the purchasing power of capital.

How do you analyze dividend policy?

Investors who are focused on dividend-paying stocks should evaluate the quality of the dividends by analyzing the dividend payout ratio, dividend coverage ratio, free cash flow to equity (FCFE), and net debt to earnings before interest taxes depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) ratio.

What are the legal and financial aspects of a dividend policy?

4. DETERMINANTS OF DIVIDEND POLICY•Legal: dividends must be paid out offirm’s earnings/ current earnings•Financial: a firm can pay dividend only tothe extent that it has cash to disburse•Economic constraints•Nature of business conducted by acompany•Existence of the company: length ofexistence of the company.

What is the importance of dividend policy?

Dividend policy is important because it outlines the amount, method, type, and frequency of dividend distributions. This is true whether the dividend policy is formally stated. Or, informally implied. One of the objectives of dividend policy is to send signals to current investors and attract new investors.

Is the dividend puzzle still unresolved by economists?

Over the past several decades, financial economists have been investigating why some firms pay dividends while others do not. F. Black (1976) described it as “the dividend puzzle.” Nearly forty years later, the puzzle still remains unresolved. 1 PhD Candidate in Finance, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, China. Article Info:

Who is the author of the dividend puzzle?

Nearly sixty years ago, J. Lintner has developed his model to explain how dividends are determined. Twenty years later, F. Black has asked why some firms pay dividends while others do not, and has written his famous paper “The Dividend Puzzle.” And in-between, we have the dividend irrelevancy theory developed by .

Why do some companies pay dividends and others do not?

Over the past several decades, financial economists have been investigating why some firms pay dividends while others do not. F. Black (1976) described it as “the dividend puzzle.” Nearly forty years later, the puzzle still remains unresolved.

Is the love of dividends a rational thing?

He argues that the love of dividends is something that investors have been conditioned to feel for centuries, and that only education will change their attitudes. This does not mean that academia will not still try to find economically rational solutions to the dividend puzzle for many years to come.