Does idiosyncratic return volatility capture information or noise? Online publication date: Mon, 07-Jan-2019
by Antonio Cerqueira; Claudia Pereira
International Journal of Trade and Global Markets (IJTGM), Vol. 11, No. 4, 2018
Abstract: This paper examines the cross-sectional association between earnings quality and firm-specific return volatility for a sample of UK firms listed in the London Stock Exchange. Identifying the determinants of idiosyncratic volatility has been a topical issue since the Campbell et al. (2001) study which documents a noticeable increase in average firm-level volatility across time. Using panel data, we find that poor information environments resulting from poor earnings quality are associated with higher firm-specific return volatility. This finding is consistent with the noise-based approach of firm-specific return volatility. In addition, we provide empirical evidence that such association becomes stronger after combining accruals quality and the dispersion in analysts' forecasts to describe a poor information environment. These findings are likely to contribute to the debate on whether firm-specific return volatility captures more firm-specific information being impounded in stock prices or essentially reflects noise.
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