Idiosyncratic factors that shape shareholder reward policies in capital intensive companies

This study empirically explores multiple company-specific determinants of dividend distributions and stock buybacks, by utilizing a panel dataset of maritime shipping companies and a panel dataset of matched companies from various industries, as well as by employing Generalized Method of Moments instrumenting for endogeneity. The results provide evidence that idiosyncratic factors, such as the reputation of dividend distribution, firm market value, free cash flow, firm profitability, analyst’s coverage, free float, firm size, leverage, firm liquidity, stock liquidity, collateralizable firm assets, risk, investment opportunities, institutional ownership, and firm performance, are important antecedents of dividend distributions in both capital intensive and diverse industries. Moreover, the reputation of stock buybacks, firm market value, free cash flow, analyst’s coverage, free float, firm size, leverage, firm liquidity, stock liquidity, collateralizable firm assets, risk, institutional ownership, and firm performance, are important determinants of stock buybacks in capital intensive industries. Lastly, the reputation of stock buybacks, firm profitability, analyst’s coverage, free float, firm size, leverage, stock liquidity, collateralizable firm assets, risk, investment opportunities, institutional ownership, and firm performance are important factors of stock buybacks in diverse industries. These empirical findings enrich the literature and yield practical implications for principal officers and investors as discussed herein.