An analyst by any other surname: Surname favorability and market reaction to analyst forecasts

Jay Heon Jung; Alok Kumar; Sonya S. Lim; Choong Yuel Yoo

doi:10.1016/j.jacceco.2019.02.002

An analyst by any other surname: Surname favorability and market reaction to analyst forecasts

Jay Heon Jung, Alok Kumar, Sonya S. Lim, Choong Yuel Yoo

Finance

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

Abstract

We find that forecast revisions by analysts with more favorable surnames elicit stronger market reactions. The effect is stronger among firms with lower institutional ownership and for analysts with non-American first names. Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and France and Germany's opposition to the Iraq War, revisions by analysts with Middle Eastern and French or German surnames, respectively, generated weaker market reaction. Surname favorability is not associated with forecast quality, but it has complementary effects with forecast performance on analysts’ career outcomes. Surname favorability mitigates under-reaction to forecast revisions. These findings are distinct from the effects of ethnic, cultural proximity, or in-group bias.

Original language	English (US)
Journal	Journal of Accounting and Economics
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacceco.2019.02.002
State	Published - Jan 1 2019

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Keywords

Earnings forecast
Equity analyst
Market reaction
Motivated reasoning
Surname favorability

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Accounting
Finance
Economics and Econometrics

Cite this

Jung, J. H., Kumar, A., Lim, S. S., & Yoo, C. Y. (2019). An analyst by any other surname: Surname favorability and market reaction to analyst forecasts. Journal of Accounting and Economics. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacceco.2019.02.002

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10.1016/j.jacceco.2019.02.002