On the Determinants of Dividends’ Information Content

Abstract

This paper examines the determinants of dividends’ information content. We put an emphasis on the role of ownership structure in explaining the impact of dividends on shareholders’ wealth. To this end, our study examined a sample of 136 French firms during the year 2007 to empirically validate our model. The empirical results show a negative reaction of stock prices to dividend announcement. This finding is consistent with the hypothesis of deterioration of growth opportunities. However, we have concluded that firms’ characteristics significantly affect dividends’ information content.