Stock Dividends: Definition / Meaning
An investor invests in the stocks of a company only and only for generating more wealth. This expectation is met primarily in two forms: capital appreciation and dividends. The amount of capital appreciation varies over the length of the investment. But a rational investor expects the company to pay out dividends on a regular basis. It is the minimum and the most fundamental return an investor anticipates from a company for having parked his valuable funds with it. Traditionally, the companies share their profits with the stakeholders through payment of the dividend in cash. However, some exceptional situations exist where the companies resort to non-cash means of profit-sharing. One such type of dividend is stock dividends.
It is an intriguing facet of corporate finance, offering companies an alternative way to reward shareholders and foster their long-term commitment. Instead of distributing cash, stock dividends involve granting additional shares of company stock to existing shareholders. This form of dividend allocation allows companies to allocate a portion of their earnings or accumulated profits back into the business while maintaining liquidity.
Stock Dividend Example
These are usually issued as a percentage of the existing holding. For example, if a company issues a 25% stock dividend, it implies that the holding of every stockholder would increase by 25%. Thus a stockholder originally holding 100 stocks will hold 125 stocks post the declaration.
Another beneficial aspect of this is that they are tax-free. Declaration of the same does not give rise to any tax consequences in the hands of the investor or the company. The impact of taxes only comes into the picture when the investor decides to sell his holding or a part thereof in the future.
Stock Dividend Benefits
Why do Companies Opt to Declare Stock Dividends?
Cash crunches remain the most rampant reason why a company may opt to declare a stock dividend. However, it may also be for the following reasons:
Maintaining a Price Range
Such declaration has an immediate impact of cutting the price per share (while the total capital remains unchanged) in proportion to which the dividends are announced. Therefore if a company has a very high stock price, it may be unaffordable to the public at large. This may result in a risk of illiquidity in the markets. Such a situation jeopardizes the company’s reputation and appeals to potential investors.
Moreover, stocks that are not overvalued enjoy an accurate PE valuation and are more likely to generate a favorable trading volume on the exchange.
Accumulation of Non-Cash Profits
Sometimes a company may build up a considerable amount of non-cash wealth, particularly when it has gone through a restructuring of its capital. In such a scenario, though the retained earnings display a healthy balance, in effect, the company may not be sitting on a lot of cash. Therefore the company may choose to pass on the benefit by declaring stock dividends. This is done by means of reallocating such excess retained earnings to the issued capital.
Better Investment Opportunities
The company may be confronted with promising investment opportunities and may be confident of generating higher returns. In such a case, more value lies in cash at hand when invested in such ventures than being paid out as dividends. Meanwhile, to retain the trust of the shareholders and investors, the company may declare stock dividends. The high-yielding avenues in which the cash is invested would eventually strengthen the market price of the stock. This, in return, finally rewards the stockholders in the form of capital appreciation.
Impact on Shareholders Wealth
The declaration of stock dividends has effectively no impact on the shareholder’s wealth. While the total number of stocks held increases on paper, its total value remains unchanged. This is because the cost of acquisition of the additional share received as the dividend is nil.
For example, Mr. Roy holds 500 stocks of a company acquired at $25 per stock. Therefore, the total value of holding at the time of acquisition is (500*25) $12500. Now the company declares a stock dividend of 2 for every 5 stocks held. Thus the stock dividend received by Mr. Roy is (500/5 * 2) 200 stocks, the cost of which is zero. The total holding of Mr. Roy now stands at 700 stocks acquired at $12500.
Impact on EPS
Stock dividends do have a significant bearing on the EPS of the company. They result in a direct increase in the total number of shares of the organization. Thus the effective earning per share reduces when the same amount of earnings or profits are divided among a larger number of stocks.
For example, the total earnings available for distribution with XYZ Inc is $500,000, and the total outstanding paid-up capital is 10000 stocks. XYZ Inc decides to issue a stock dividend in view of shortages of cash at 25%. Thus the total outstanding stocks now stand at 12500.
Pre Stock Dividend | Post Stock Dividend | |
Total Earnings | $500,000 | $500,000 |
Total Outstanding shares | 10000 | 12500 |
EPS | $50 | $40 |
Disadvantages of Stock Dividends
There are some downsides of stock dividends as well. While the stock dividend strategy offers advantages, it may also be disadvantageous in the following ways:
- The market may perceive the declaration of stock dividends as an acute shortage of cash or distress in the company. Such a pessimistic assumption may give rise to a selling spree of the stock, and the price may start spiraling down.
- As investors who are not privy to the company’s internal management, it may not be easy to judge the true intentions of the top management. They remain at the mercy of the company and shall never know whether the company’s decision was genuine or just a way to hoard cash.
- A company may actually be better off paying cash dividends rather than diverting the precious funds to a risky project, the returns of which are uncertain.
Also read – Stock Split vs. Stock Dividend.
Conclusion
Stock dividends represent a unique approach to shareholder rewards, offering companies a means to distribute value while preserving cash resources. By granting additional shares, companies can strengthen their relationship with shareholders, instill confidence, and provide an avenue for long-term alignment between the company’s success and its investors.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Companies may choose to issue stock dividends to reward shareholders while conserving cash resources. It allows them to allocate a portion of earnings back into the business.
Cash dividends involve the direct payment of money to shareholders, while stock dividends involve the issuance of additional shares.
In most cases, stock dividends are not taxable when received. However, shareholders may need to adjust their cost basis for future tax purposes.
Yes, shareholders can sell the additional shares received through stock dividends, just like any other shares they own.