Contemporary dividend and earnings announcements: Is there a corroboration effect in New Zealand?

Abstract

This study examines the existence of a corroboration effect on stock returns when contemporary dividend and earnings are announced in New Zealand. Results show whether investors evaluate these two sets of information independently or in relation to each other. Using dividend and earnings data collected through the NZSE Weekly Diaries and stock price data from the University of Otago Share Price Database, there seems to be some evidence that a corroboration effect exists in New Zealand. More importantly, empirical results indicate that a corroboration effect exists only when both dividend and earnings announcements convey negative news. This suggests that either (1) managers prefer to release good news rather than bad news, or (2) investors put more weight on negative information as compared to positive information. If the latter argument is true this implies that investors may have a different pricing mechanism for positive and negative information, or that the relative content of positive and negative information is different.