| Abstract [eng] |
In order to be a profitable and competitive economic unit, it is crucial to ensure the level of attractiveness of the company's shares in the market and confidence in the company. Every business should focus on building a sustainable relationship with existing and potential shareholders, as the future profits of the company depend on it. Dividend policy is one of the key tools that can help to quickly and directly broadcast positive information about a company’s position to external stakeholders, thus increasing the investment attractiveness of a company’s stock. Before making decisions about both paying dividends and investing in shares that pay dividends, it is crucial to find out how the dividend policy shift affects the stock return in the long run. The aim of the paper: to determine the impact of the dividend policy of companies listed in OMX Baltic Stock Exchange to the stock performance. The structure of the paper: the first part of the work deals with the concept of dividends, the main theories of dividend policy, theoretical research results in company profit allocation decisions and forms of distribution. The second part is devoted to the study of tools and methods of the impact of dividend policy on stock returns in OMX Baltic Stock Exchange and the analysis of the Baltic stock market environment. The third section summarizes the results of Baltic stock market research defining the affect of dividend policy changes on stock performance. The results of the study revealed a statistically significant relationship between the main indicators of the dividend policy – the change in dividend yield, dividend payout ratio and dividends per share, and the returns on formed investment portfolios during the years of stable and healthy growing regional and global economy. A statistically insignificant relationship between dividend policy and stock performance of the companies listed in OMX Baltic Stock Exchange was found during the years of strong volatility in world markets and global economy fluctuations. |
