finance data bank

Myron Gordon and John Lintner believe that the required return on equity increases as the dividend payout ratio is decreased. Their argument is based on the assumption that
a. Investors are indifferent between dividends and capital gains.
b. Investors require that the dividend yield and capital gains yield equal a constant.
c. Capital gains are taxed at a higher rate than dividends.
d. Investors view dividends as being less risky than potential future capital gains.
e. Investors value a dollar of expected capital gains more highly than a dollar of
expected dividends because of the lower tax rate on capital gains.

Which of the following statements best describes the theories of investors' preferences for dividends?
a.Modigliani and Miller argue that investors prefer dividends to capital gains.
b. The bird-in-hand theory suggests that a company can reduce its cost of equitycapital
by reducing its dividend payout ratio.
c. The tax preference theory suggests that a company can increase its stock price by
increasing its dividend payout ratio.
d. One key advantage of a residual distribution policy (with all distributions as
dividends) is that it enables a company to follow a stable dividend policy.
e. The clientele effect suggests that companies should follow a stable dividend policy.

Which of the following statements is most correct?
a. The bird-in-the-hand theory implies that a company can reduce its WACC by
reducing its dividend payout.
b. The bird-in-the-hand theory implies that a company can increase its stock price by
reducing its dividend payout.
c. One problem with following a residual distribution policy (with all distributions in the
form of dividends) is that it can lead to erratic dividend payouts that may prevent the
firm from establishing a reliable clientele of investors who prefer a particular dividend policy.
d. Statements a and c are correct.
e. All of the statements above are correct.

Which of the following would not have an influence on the optimal distribution policy?
a. The possibility of accelerating or delaying investment projects.
b. A strong shareholders' preference for current income versus capital gains.
c. Bond indenture constraints.
d. The costs associated with selling new common stock.
e. All of the statements above can have an effect on dividend policy.

e. All of the statements above can have an effect on dividend policy.

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In the real world, we find that dividends
a. Usually exhibit greater stability than earnings.
b. Fluctuate more widely than earnings.
c. Tend to be a lower percentage of earnings for mature firms.
d. Are usually changed every year to reflect earnings changes.
e. Are usually set as a fixed percentage of earnings

A decrease in a firm's willingness to pay dividends is likely to result from an increase in its
a. Earnings stability.
b. Access to capital markets.
c. Profitable investment opportunities.
d. Collection of accounts receivable.
e. Stock price.

A stock split will cause a change in the total dollar amounts shown in which of the
following balance sheet accounts?
a. Cash.
b. Common stock.
c. Paid-in capital.
d. Retained earnings.
e. None of the above

You currently own 100 shares of stock in Beverly Brothers Inc. The stock currently
trades at $120 a share. The company is contemplating a 2-for-1 stock split. Which of the
following best describes your position after the proposed stock split takes place?
a. You will have 200 shares of stock, and the stock will trade at or near $120 a share.
b. You will have 200 shares of stock, and the stock will trade at or near $60 a share.
c. You will have 100 shares of stock, and the stock will trade at or near $60 a share.
d. You will have 50 shares of stock, and the stock will trade at or near $120 a share.
e. You will have 50 shares of stock, and the stock will trade at or near $60 a share.

Which of the following statements is most correct?
a. One advantage of stock repurchases is that they are generally taxed more favorably than dividend payments.
b. One advantage of dividend reinvestment plans is that they enable investors to avoid paying taxes on the dividends they receive.
c. Stock repurchases make sense if a company is interested in increasing its equity ratio.
d. Stock repurchases make sense if a company believes that its stock is overvalued and
that it has a lot of profitable projects to fund over the next year.
e. One advantage of an open market dividend reinvestment plan is that it increases the
number of shares the company has outstanding.

Which of the following statements is most correct?
a. In general, stock repurchases are taxed the same way as dividends.
b. One nice feature of dividend reinvestment plans is that they enable investors to
reduce the taxes paid on their dividends.
c. On average, companies send a negative signal to the marketplace when they
announce an increase in their dividend.
d. If a company is interested in issuing new equity capital, a new stock dividend reinvestment plan probably makes more sense than an open market dividend reinvestment plan.
e. Statements b and d are correct.

Which of the following statements is most correct?
a. One reason that companies tend to avoid stock repurchases is that dividend payments
are taxed more favorably than stock repurchases.
b. One advantage of dividend reinvestment plans is that they allow shareholders to avoid
paying taxes on the dividends that they choose to reinvest.
c. If a company announces a 2-for-1 stock split and the overall value of the firm remains
unchanged, the company's stock price must have doubled.
d. All of the statements above are correct.
e. None of the statements above is correct.

Which of the following statements is most correct?
a. If a company puts in place a 2-for-1 stock split, its stock price should roughly double.
b. Share repurchases are taxed less favorably than dividends; this explains why companies typically pay dividends and avoid share repurchases.
c. On average, a company's stock price tends to rise when it announces that it is initiating a share repurchase program.
d. Statements a and b are correct.
e. All of the statements above are correct.

Which of the following statements is most correct?
a. The tax preference hypothesis suggests that companies can reduce their costs of
capital by increasing their dividend payout ratios.
b. One advantage of the residual distribution policy (with all distributions as dividends)
is that it leads to a stable dividend payout, which is desired by investors.
c. Firms with a large number of investment opportunities and a relatively small amount
of cash tend to have above average dividend payouts.
d. Answers a and b are correct.
e. None of the answers above is correct.

If the MM hypothesis about dividends is correct, and if one found a group of companies
that differed only with respect to dividend policy, which of the following statements
would be most correct?
a. The residual distribution model should not be used, because it is inconsistent with the
MM dividend hypothesis.
b. The total expected return, which in equilibrium is also equal to the required return,
would be higher for those companies with lower payout ratios because of the greater
risk associated with capital gains versus dividends.
c. If the expected total return of each of the sample companies were divided into a
dividend yield and a growth rate, and then a scatter diagram (or regression) analysis
were undertaken, then the slope of the regression line (or b in the equation D1/P0 = a
+ b(g)) would be equal to +1.0.
d. None of the statements above is true.
e. All of the statements above are true.

Which of the following statements is most correct?
a. If the dividend irrelevance theory (which is associated with the names Modigliani and Miller) were exactly correct, and if this theory could be tested with "clean" data, then we would find, in a regression of dividend yield and capital gains, a line with a slope of -1.0.
b. The tax preference and bird-in-the-hand theories lead to identical conclusions as to
the optimal dividend policy.
c. If a company raises its dividend by an unexpectedly large amount, the announcement
of this new and higher dividend is generally accompanied by an increase in the stock
price. This is consistent with the bird-in-the-hand theory, and Modigliani and Miller
used these findings to support their position on dividend theory.
d. If it could be demonstrated that a clientele effect exists, this would suggest that firms
could alter their dividend payment policies from year to year to take advantage of
investment opportunities without having to worry about the effects of changing
dividends on capital costs.
e. Each of the statements above is false.

Which of the following statements is most correct?
a. The bird-in-the-hand theory would predict that companies could decrease their cost of equity financing by raising their dividend payout.
b. The clientele effect can explain why firms often change their dividend policies.
c. One advantage of adopting a residual distribution policy (with all distributions in the
form of dividends) is that it makes it easier for corporations to maintain dividend
clienteles.
d. Answers a and c are correct.
e. None of the answers above is correct.

Modigliani and Miller (MM) argued that dividend policy is irrelevant. On the other hand,
Gordon and Lintner (GL) argued that dividend policy does matter. GL's argument rests
on the contention that
a. rs = D1/P0 + g is constant for any dividend policy.
b. Because of perceived differences in risk, investors value a dollar of dividends more highly than a dollar of expected capital gains.
c. Investors, because of tax differentials, value a dollar of expected capital gains more
highly than a dollar of dividends.
d. Most investors will reinvest rather than spend dividends, so it would save investors
money (taxes) if corporations simply reinvested earnings rather than paid them out as
dividends.
e. None of the answers above.

Which of the following statements is most correct?
a. The tax preference theory states that, all else equal, investors prefer stocks that pay low dividends because retained earnings can lead to capital gains that are taxed preferentially.
b. An increase in the cost of equity capital (rs) when a company announces an increase in its dividend per share would be consistent with the bird-in-the-hand theory.
c. An increase in the stock price when a company decreases its dividend is consistent with the signaling theory.
d. A dividend policy that involves paying a consistent percentage of net income is the best policy if the "clientele effect" is correct.
e. Both statements a and d are correct.

Which of the following statements is most correct?
a. Companies can repurchase shares either (1) to change their capital structures or (2) to distribute cash to stockholders without paying cash dividends. In the second situation, tax considerations will probably play a key role in the decision to repurchase stock versus to pay more cash dividends.
b. Stock dividends provide investors with additional shares of stock, not cash, yet many investors must pay cash in the form of taxes on the value of the stock dividends. For this reason, stock dividends are rarely used today.
c. The bird-in-the-hand theory of dividend policy could be rejected immediately if personal income taxes were abolished.
d. If the curve relating the WACC and the debt ratio looks like a sharp 'V', this would make it more feasible for a firm to follow the residual dividend policy than if the curve looks like a shallow bowl (or a shallow 'U').
e. The open market type of dividend reinvestment plan is the best type for firms that need to bring in new equity capital.

If a firm adheres strictly to the residual distribution policy (with all distributions in the
form of dividends), a sale of new common stock by the company would suggest that
a. The dividend payout ratio has remained constant.
b. The dividend payout ratio is increasing.
c. No dividends were paid for the year.
d. The dividend payout ratio is decreasing.
e. The dollar amount of investments has decreased.