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Stock repurchases: A further test of the free cash flow hypothesis

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Abstract

This study explores the empirical puzzle currently existing regarding the observed positive stock price reaction associated with self-tender offer announcements. The puzzle stems from Lang and Litzenberger's (1989) findings that Jensen's (1986, 1989) free cash flow (overinvestment) hypothesis is consistent with changes in cash dividends, whereas Howe, He and Kao's (1992) study of analogous cash events (i.e., self-tender offers and specially designated dividends) finds no support for the free cash flow hypothesis. By stratifying our sample of firms repurchasing their stock by the source of the firm's free cash flow (overinvestment) problem, additional light is shed on the interaction between the signalling and free cash flow theories.

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Gunthorpe, D.L. Stock repurchases: A further test of the free cash flow hypothesis. Rev Quant Finan Acc 3, 353–365 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02406997

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