Predicting Firm Level Stock Returns : Implications for Asset Pricing and Economic Links

This paper examines the predictive ability of several stock price ratios, stock return dispersion and distribution for individual firm level stock returns. Analysis typically focusses on market level returns, however, for the asset pricing model that underlies predictability to hold, firm-level predictability should also be present. In addition, we examine the economic content of predictability by considering whether the predictive coefficient has the theoretically correct sign and whether it is related to future output growth. Movement in stock returns should reflect investor expectations regarding future economic conditions. While stock returns are often too noisy to act as predictors for future economic behaviour, factors that predict stock returns should equally have predictive power for output growth. In our analysis, we use the time-varying predictive coefficient to predict output growth, as the coefficient reflects the sensitivity of stock returns to the predictor variable and thus can be regarded as investors' confidence in the predictive relation. The results suggest that several stock price ratios have predictive power for individual firm stock returns, exhibit the correct coefficient sign and has predictive power for output growth. Each of these ratios has a measure of fundamentals dividend by the stock price and has a positive predictive relation with stock returns and output growth. This implies that as investors expect future economic conditions to improve and earnings and dividends to rise, so expected stock returns will increase. This supports the stock return predictive relation that arises through the cash flow channel