Corporate financing activities, fundamentals to price ratios and the cross section of stock returns

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to investigate the relation between the value/growth anomaly and the external financing anomaly by considering an expanded value/growth indicator: free cash flow yield (free cash flows scaled by price). Design/methodology/approach – The paper utilizes portfolio‐level tests and cross‐sectional regressions. Findings – In line with the literature on contrarian portfolios, this paper finds that firms with low (high) free cash flow yield are experiencing low (high) returns. However, only when an investor buys (sells) stocks of firms with high (low) free cash flow yield that distribute (raise) capital, his zero‐cost portfolio is significant. These findings are robust, irrespective of the financing vehicle (equity or debt). Overall, their evidence suggests that distinctions between the value/growth anomaly and the external financing anomaly partially disappear, if one is willing to employ free cash flow yield as a proxy of the former anomaly. Originality/value – The paper enhances one's understanding of the relation between asset pricing anomalies.