The dividends behaviour of the Jordanian companies listed in Amman Stock Exchange: Three essays

Abstract

This study investigates the dividend behaviour of the Jordanian companies listed in Amman Stock Exchange. In specific, it examines whether dividends policy differs according to firm size, whether it differs for diverse sectors and whether it is stable over time. The sample of the study consists of 90 Jordanian companies listed in Amman Stock Exchange (ASE), 30 companies from each sector: financial, services and industrial, with 990 observations of dividends per share (DPS), earnings per share (EPS) and market capitalization (MC) over the period (2006–2016). The study uses non‐parametric tests in addition to regression analysis. Results show that there are statistically significant differences between DPS in the three sectors (financial, industrial and services). Statistically significant differences in DPS between different sized companies in the three sectors (financial, industrial and services) in ASE are also found. The dividends are stable over time.