Gusau Journal of Accounting and Finance (GUJAF) Vol. 4 Issue 1, April, 2023 ISSN: 2756-665X A Publication of Department of Accounting and Finance, Faculty of Management and Social Sciences, Federal University Gusau, Zamfara State -Nigeria Gusau Journal of Accounting and Finance, Vol. 4, Issue 1, April, 2023 ii © Department of Accounting and Finance Vol. 4 Issue 1 April, 2023 ISSN: 2756-665X A Publication of Department of Accounting and Finance, Faculty of Management and Social Sciences, Federal University Gusau, Zamfara State -Nigeria All Rights reserved Except for academic purposes no part or whole of this publication is allowed to be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means be it mechanical, electrical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the Copyright owner. Published and Printed by: Ahmadu Bello University Press Limited, Zaria Kaduna State, Nigeria. Tel: 08065949711, 069-879121 e-mail: abupress2013@gmail.com abupress2020@yahoo.com Website: www.abupress.com.ng mailto:abupress2013@gmail.com Gusau Journal of Accounting and Finance, Vol. 4, Issue 1, April, 2023 iii EDITORIAL BOARD Editor-in-Chief: Prof. Shehu Usman Hassan Department of Accounting, Federal University of Kashere, Gombe State. Associate Editor: Dr. Muhammad Mustapha Bagudo Department of Accounting, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Kaduna State. Managing Editor: Umar Farouk Abdulkarim Department of Accounting and Finance, Federal University Gusau, Zamfara State. Editorial Board Prof.Ahmad Modu Kumshe Department of Accounting, University of Maiduguri, Borno State. Prof Ugochukwu C. Nzewi Department of Accounting, Paul University Awka, Anambra State. Prof Kabir Tahir Hamid Department of Accounting, Bayero University, Kano, Kano State. Prof. Ekoja B. Ekoja Department of Accounting, University of Jos. Prof. Clifford Ofurum Department of Accounting, University of PortHarcourt, Rivers State. Prof. Ahmad Bello Dogarawa Department of Accounting, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria. Prof. Yusuf. B. Rahman Department of Accounting, Lagos State University, Lagos State. Gusau Journal of Accounting and Finance, Vol. 4, Issue 1, April, 2023 iv Prof. Suleiman A. S. Aruwa Department of Accounting, Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Nasarawa State. Prof. Muhammad Junaidu Kurawa Department of Accounting, Bayero University Kano, Kano State. Prof. Muhammad Habibu Sabari Department of Accounting, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. Prof. Okpanachi Joshua Department of Accounting and Management, Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna. Prof. Hassan Ibrahim Department of Accounting, IBB University, Lapai, Niger State. Prof. Ifeoma Mary Okwo Department of Accounting, Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Enugu State. Prof. Aminu Isah Department of Accounting, Bayero University, Kano, Kano State. Prof. Ahmadu Bello Department of Accounting, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. Prof. Musa Yelwa Abubakar Department of Accounting, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto State. Prof. Salisu Abubakar Department of Accounting, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Kaduna State. Dr. Isaq Alhaji Samaila Department of Accounting, Bayero University, Kano State. Dr. Fatima Alfa Department of Accounting, University of Maiduguri, Borno State. Dr. Sunusi Sa'ad Ahmad Gusau Journal of Accounting and Finance, Vol. 4, Issue 1, April, 2023 v Department of Accounting, Federal University Dutse, Jigawa State. Dr. Nasiru A. Ka’oje Department of Accounting, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto State. Dr. Aminu Abdullahi Department of Accounting, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto, State. Dr. Onipe Adebenege Yahaya Department of Accounting, Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna State. Dr. Saidu Adamu Department of Accounting, Federal University of Kashere, Gombe State. Dr. Nasiru Yunusa Department of Accounting, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria. Dr. Aisha Nuhu Muhammad Department of Accounting, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria. Dr. Lawal Muhammad Department of Accounting, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria. Dr. Farouk Adeza School of Business and Entrepreneurship, American University of Nigeria, Yola. Dr. Bashir Umar Farouk Department of Economics, Federal University Gusau, Zamfara State. Dr Emmanuel Omokhuale Department of Mathematics, Federal University Gusau, Zamfara. State Gusau Journal of Accounting and Finance, Vol. 4, Issue 1, April, 2023 vi ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS Prof. Kabiru Isah Dandago, Bayero University Kano, Kano State. Prof A M Bashir, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto, Sokoto State. Prof. Muhammad Tanko, Kaduna State University, Kaduna. Prof. Bayero A M Sabir, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto, Sokoto State. Prof. Aliyu Sulaiman Kantudu, Bayero University Kano, Kano State. Editorial Secretary Usman Muhammad Adam Department of Accounting and Finance, Federal University Gusau, Zamfara State. Gusau Journal of Accounting and Finance, Vol. 4, Issue 1, April, 2023 vii CALL FOR PAPERS The editorial board of Gusau Journal of Accounting and Finance (GUJAF) is hereby inviting authors to submit their unpublished manuscript for publication. The journal is published in two issues of April and October annually. 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PAYMENT DETAILS Bank: FCMB Account Number: 7278465011 Account Name: Gusau Journal of Accounting and Finance FOR INQUIRY The Head, Department of Accounting and Finance, Federal University Gusau, Zamfara State. elfarouk105@gmail.com +2348069393824 FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT The Editor-in-Chief on +2348067766435 The Associate Editor on +2348036057525 OR visit our website on www.gujaf.com.ng or journals.gujaf.com.ng http://www.gujaf.com.ng/ http://www.gujaf.com.ng/ Gusau Journal of Accounting and Finance, Vol. 4, Issue 1, April, 2023 ix CONTENTS Board Characteristics and Earnings Management of Listed Consumer Goods Firms in Nigeria Benjamin Gwabin Joseph, Murtala Abdullahi PhD, Benjamin Kumai Gugong PhD 1 Dividend Policy and Value of Listed Non-Financial Companies in Nigeria: The Moderating Effect of Investment Opportunity Abubakar Umar 18 Trialability and Observability of Accrual Basis International Public Sector Accounting Standards Implementation in Nigeria Aliyu Abdullahi Ahmed PhD, Zakari Usman 35 Liquidity Risk and Performance of Non-Financial Firms Listed on the Nigerian StockExchange Muhammed Alhaji Abubakar, Nurnaddia Binti Nordin PhD, Abubakar Hamisu Umar 54 Board Diversity, Political Connections and Firm Value: An Empirical Evidence from Financial Firms in Nigeria Rofiat Oyetunji, Isah Shittu PhD, Ahmed Bello PhD. 75 Moderating Effect of Bank Size on the Relationship between Interest Rate, Liquidity, And Profitability of Commercial Banks in Nigeria Shehu Usman Hassan, Bello Sabo (Ph. D), Ismai'l Idris Tijjani (Ph. D), Idris Ahmed Aliyu. (Ph. D) 96 Sources of Health Care Financing Among Surgical Patients Seen at the Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital Lafia Nasarawa State Nigeria Ahmed Mohammed Yahaya, Babatunde Joseph Kolawole, Bello Surajudeen Oyeleke 121 Transparency, Compliance and Sustainability of Contributory Pension Scheme in Nigeria Olanrewaju Atanda Aliu (Ph. D), Mohamad Ali Abdul-Hamid (Ph. D), Salami Suleiman (Ph. D), Salam Mudathir Olanrewaju 135 Gusau Journal of Accounting and Finance, Vol. 4, Issue 1, April, 2023 x Examining the Impact of Working Capital Management on the Financial Performance of Listed Industrial Goods Entities in Nigeria 151 Sani Abdulrahman Bala (Ph. D), Jamilu Jibril, Taophic Olarewaju BAKARE Corporate Governance Factors and Tax Avoidance of Listed Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria 171 Sani Abdulrahman Bala (Ph. D), Umar Salim Ibrahim, Samaila Dannana Risk Committee Demographic Traits: A Study of the Impact of Expertise on Risk Disclosure Quality of Listed Insurance Firms in Nigeria Wada Najib Abbas, Dandago, Kabiru Isa (Ph. D), Rabiu, Naja’atu Bala 192 Moderating Effect of Audit Committee on the Relationship Between Audit Quality and Earnings Management of Listed Non-Financial Services Firms in Nigeria Ahmad Muhammad Ahmad, Lubabah Mansur Kwanbo (Ph.D.), Shehu Usman Hassan (Ph.D.) Musa Suleiman Umar (Ph.D.) 216 Determinants of Audit Opinion of Negative-Book-Value Firms in Nigeria: Firm Value and Audit Characteristics Perspective Asma’u Mahmood Baffa (Ph. D), Lawal Mohammed (Ph.D.), Ahmed Bello (Ph.D.) Umar Farouk Abdulkarim 237 Intervention Announcements and Naira Management: Evidence from the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market Adedeji Daniel Gbadebo 254 Is There Earnings Discontinuity After the Implementation of IFRS in Nigeria? Adedeji Daniel Gbadebo 275 Gusau Journal of Accounting and Finance, Vol. 4, Issue 1, April, 2023 18 DIVIDEND POLICY AND VALUE OF LISTED NON-FINANCIAL COMPANIES IN NIGERIA: THE MODERATING EFFECT OF INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY Abubakar Umar Department of Accounting Yusuf Maitama Sule University, Kano abubakar2235@gmail.com +2348039247517 Abstract The relationship between dividend policy (DP) and the value of firms (FV) has been investigated by several researchers in different jurisdictions. However, the findings of these researchers have been always inconsistent. This is due to the other factors that affect this relationship, which include the investment opportunity (IO). This paper is therefore aimed to empirically examine the impact of dividend policy on firms’ value with investment opportunity as moderator. The population of the study consists of 102 listed Non-financial companies. Based on the criterion set by the researcher, a judgmental technique of sampling was used in selecting 30 non-financial companies from the year 2011 to 2020. Tobin’s’ Q (TQ) and Market Price Per share (MPS) are the proxies for firms’ value, while Dividend per share (DPS) dividend payout ratio (DPR) and dividend yield (DY) are the proxies for dividend policy. Investment opportunity (IO) was measured as fixed asset growth. The study also used Firms’ size (FSIZE), Leverage (LEV) and Industry dummy (IND) as control variables. Descriptive statistics, correlation, and Feasible Generalized Least Squares (FGLS) analysis were used. It was found that DP, DPR, and DY are statistically significant to influence TQ. While MPS was only influenced by DP and DY. It was also found that IO did not moderate the relationship between dividend policy and firm value. It is recommended that the management of corporations should put measures in place that will increase revenue and decrease expenses so that regular dividend payments could be maintained. Key words: Dividend per share, dividend payout ratio, dividend yield, Tobins’ Q, Market price per share, investment opportunity. https://doi.org/10.57233/gujaf.v4i1.198 1. Introduction According to Putu et al. (2014), how investors perceive a company is linked to its value, which is directly tied to stock prices. The company's principal goal is to maximize its value, which also affects the level of shareholder prosperity. The share price may be seen as the market value of the firm that can benefit the shareholder; as a result, an increase in a company's share price raises the welfare of its shareholders. It's essential to enhance corporate value as it also means increasing shareholder wealth, which is the primary objective of the company (Ibrahim, 2020). A firm's value (FV) can be influenced by several factors, including the dividend policy (DP) (Setiyawati et al., 2017). The focus of the DP is to determine the portion mailto:abubakar2235@gmail.com Gusau Journal of Accounting and Finance, Vol. 4, Issue 1, April, 2023 19 of earnings that should be disbursed as dividends to investors and the portion that should be kept for reinvestment. The development of the DP is heavily influenced by the available investment opportunities and dividend value of the company. Therefore, it’s critical financial decisions that will have a significant impact on a company's profitability. It is a plan that guides management on how to distribute the company’s returns to stockholders through various forms of dividends over a set period (Kehinde & Abiola, 2001). However, previous literature states that companies delay distribution of dividends due to investment opportunities (IO) (Abo and Bokpin, 2010; Subramaniam et al., 2011; Subramaniam and Shaiban, 2011). According to Jones and Sharma (2001), a firm’s investments or options to grow constitute the investment opportunity set (IOS) of that firm. Myers (1977) explains an IO as any potentially profitable investment with the prospect of providing an economic return that has yet to be realized by the firm. Therefore, an IO is the part of the value of a firm that results from the option to make a future investment (Smith & Watts, 1992). The DP of a company will be influenced, to a large extent, by the IO available to that company because they will determine the amount of funds that will be available for distribution as a dividend (Brigham & Houston, 2016). The amount of dividend to be paid by a company would be determined by the number of potentially profitable investments that are available to the company. Companies will pay a small portion of their earnings as dividends when they have many potential profitable investments (Myers & Majluf, 1984). As asserted by Jensen (1986), companies will rather use their internal resources to take advantage of available IO than use external resources, which are more expensive. This would no doubt reduce the fund that would otherwise be paid out as dividend. Previous studies conducted on DP usually focus on the direct impact of DP on FV. Mixed results were obtained by different researchers. Some studies found a significant influence between DP and FV (Amollo, 2016; Budagaga, 2017; Anton, 2017; Safitri et al., 2020). Other researchers (like Emeni and Ogbulu, 2015; Rehman, 2016; Husain and Sunardi, 2020) found insignificant effects. The inconsistency in the results shows that there is a need for moderation to see if the direction of the result could be changed. Hence, the present study will use IO as a moderating variable to moderate the relationship between DP and FV as used by Yustisiana (2017). The Non-financial sector is critical to the economy of any country. It accounted for more than 63% of Nigerian listed companies (NSE, 2020). It comprises manufacturing and services sectors. However, a close examination by the researcher of the information published either by the companies in their annual Gusau Journal of Accounting and Finance, Vol. 4, Issue 1, April, 2023 20 reports or by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (Nigerian Exchange Group) about the dividend payment reveals that between the years 2011 to 2020, only about 56% of listed non-financial companies in Nigeria paid a dividend at least once. In fact, this study will use data from only 30 companies as the only companies who paid dividend in the seven out of the ten years covered by this study. This reveals that, as noted by Ajayi and Mougouė (2017), some prefer companies that constantly pay dividend to shareholders, while others believe that companies should retain profits and use it to tap into the available investment opportunities. The remaining part of the paper will cover the literature review and the hypothesis development, the methodology, result and discussion, and the conclusion and recommendation. 2. Literature Review and Hypothesis Development Miller and Modigliani's (1961) dividend irrelevance theory offers insight into the relationship between DP and FV. The theory suggests that a company's stock price and cost of capital aren't influenced by its DP. According to Pilotte (1992), companies that pay out most of their earnings as dividends experience less capital appreciation. Dividend payout and capital appreciation have an inverse correlation. According to this theory, irrespective of its size, the sum of the dividends is always equal to the capital appreciation. Hence, investors are always indifferent. If the dividend paid by the company falls short of investors’ expectations, investors can dispose-off part of their shareholding to obtain cash, and vice versa (Farrukh et al., 2017). Evidence from empirical studies on DP and FV yielded mixed results. For instance, Egbeonu et al. (2016) proved that dividend per share is negatively related to FV. Aroh et al. (2021) discovered that DP had a negative influence on company value using data from 81 Nigerian companies. In contrast, Anton (2016) discovered that the dividend payout ratio has positive effects on company value based on a sample of 63 Romanian non-financial companies. Similarly, Budagaga (2017) established a positive and significant association between dividend payment and company value utilizing a residual income technique based on 44 chosen companies. Likewise, Okeke et al. (2021) found that dividends per share and earnings per share positively affect the share price of Nigerian companies. Also from Nigeria, Lawrence et al. (2021) proved that DP determined the value of non-financial firms. However, Emeni and Ogbulu (2015), using a sample of 10 firms, proved that firm DP does not affect FV. Similarly, Husain and Sunardi (2020) used a sample of 11 companies from the automobile and components sub-sector to study the influence Gusau Journal of Accounting and Finance, Vol. 4, Issue 1, April, 2023 21 of DP on FV in Indonesia and found no significant effect. Also, Hansda et al. (2020), using the GMM model, found that DP does not affect the value of 500 firms listed on the BSE. Likewise, Bon and Hartoko (2022) using data from 30 Indonesian companies, found an insignificant relationship between DP and value. From the above literature review, we can see conflicting findings from different authors. While some studies found a significant relationship between DP and FV, others found an insignificant relationship. Therefore, based on this literature, we proposed the following hypothesis: H1 Dividend policy has an impact on firms’ value. Dividend policy, Investment opportunity and firm’s value The relationship between DP, IO, and FV can be explained with the help of the dividend remaining theory. According to this theory, the focal point of any organization should not be the number of dividends to be shared with shareholders. A dividend should only be paid when all the available potential investments with prospective economic benefits are exhausted. Therefore, the amount of dividend to be paid would be determined by the amount and number of capital projects that the organization planned to embark on. The reason for calling this theory "the residual theory of dividends" is that dividends will only be paid with residual profits after investments (Livoreka et al., 2014). Titman (2011) states that there is a negative association between IO and dividend payout ratio. A rise in IO will result in a fall in the dividend payout ratio. Previous literature proves the existence of a relationship between DP and IO. For instance, Smith and Watts (1992) contend that a low dividend distribution strategy is likely to be chosen by companies with a large IOS since dividends and investments are competing in the uses of a company’s cash resources. Similarly, Abbott (2001) asserts that a company’s dividend payout is inversely affected by an increase in IOS. In other words, companies that experienced an increase in IO usually reduced their dividend payout, and vice versa. Abor and Bokpin (2010) found a negative and significant relationship between IO and dividend payout ratio. Likewise, Subramaniam et al. (2011) also found a negative and significant relationship using a sample of 409 companies in Malaysia. In contrast, Siboni et al. (2015) proved that there is a positive association between IO and DP using a sample of 88 Iranian companies. Similarly, Andaswari et al. (2017) using structural equation modeling on 14 companies from the Indonesian construction sector, found that IOS positively affects DP. Gusau Journal of Accounting and Finance, Vol. 4, Issue 1, April, 2023 22 The inconsistency in the findings opens a possibility that IO is not a direct determinant of dividend decisions but rather a moderating variable of the direct relationship between profitability, company growth, and dividend decision (Sarmento et al., 2014). It is on this note that Yustisiana (2017) investigates the influence of DP on shareholder wealth by incorporating IO as a moderating variable. It is proved that IO moderates the relationship between DP and shareholders' wealth. Similarly, Raharja et al. (2020) found that IO moderates the relationship between dividend decisions and a firm’s profitability. We, therefore, developed the following hypothesis: H2: Investment opportunity moderates the impact of dividend policy and firms’ value. 3. Methodology This paper examines the effect of Dividend Policy and Firms' Value of Listed Non- Financial Companies in Nigeria, with Investment Opportunity as Moderating Variable. Data for the study was gathered from the annual reports of the firms covering the years 2011 through 2020. The researcher used a judgmental sampling technique in selecting the sample size based on the following criterion: (1) the company must have been listed on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange not later than January 1, 2011; and (2) the company must have paid a dividend for at least seven (7) years out of the Ten (10) years covered by this study. Therefore, this paper removed companies that paid dividends for less than 7 years and companies with other missing data. The final sample comprises 30 companies over a period of 10 years. This makes it a 300-firm-year observation. See Table I for the sampling procedure. Definition of variables and measurement Firm value This study use Tobin’s Q and Market share price to measure firm value, consistent with previous studies (Safitri et al., 2020; Akhmadi and Januarsi, 2021). Tobin’s Q is calculated by summing up the market capitalization and book value of debt and then dividing it by the total assets. The Market share price is the closing share price Independent Variables Consistent with the study of Oniyama et al. (2021), this paper used three measures of DP. Dividend per share is calculated in this study as the divided total dividend paid to the ordinary shareholders divided by the total number of shares in issues, dividend payout ratio-measured as dividend per share minus earning per share Gusau Journal of Accounting and Finance, Vol. 4, Issue 1, April, 2023 23 dividend by dividend per share, and dividend yield- measured as dividend per share dividend by earning per share. Moderating Variable Investment opportunity is the moderating variable, which is measured as the ratio of increase in fixed assets over the total assets of period one, consistent with the study of Nasir et al. (2020). Control variables Three control variables namely firm size, leverage, and industry dummy was used in this study. Firm size is computed as the natural logarithm of the total assets (Hansda et al., 2020). Leverage is computed as the ratio of total interest-bearing liabilities to total assets (Hansda et al., 2020). As for the industry dummy, a value of 1 is assigned to manufacturing companies and 2 is assigned to service companies. See Table II for the summary of the variables used. Regression model The followings models were constructed: TQit = β0 + β1DPSit + β2DPRit + β3DYit + β4LEVit + β5FSIZEit + β6INDit + εit……….. (1) MPSit = β0 + β1DPSit + β2DPRit + β3DYit + β4LEVit + β5FSIZEit + β6INDit + εit………(2) TQit = β0 + β1DPSit + β2DPRit + β3DYit + β4IOit + β5IO*DPSit + β6IO*DYRit + β7IO*DYit + β8LEVit + β9FSIZEit + β10IND εit……………………………………. ………………....(3) MPSit = β0 + β1DPSit + β2DPRit + β3DYit + β4IOit + β5IO*DPSit + β6IO*DYRit + β7IO*DYit + β8LEVit + β9FSIZEit + β10IND εit……………………………………. …………………(4) Where: Β0 = Constant β1 to β10 = Coefficient of the parameters ε = error term i= firm t= time Table I Sample Procedure Initial sample size before elimination 158 Companies listed after 2011 (10) Financial services (48) Companies with payment of dividend less than 7 times (58) Companies with other missing data (12) Final sample size 30 Observation period (2011 – 2020) 10yrs Number of observation 300 Source: Author’s Compilation (2023) Gusau Journal of Accounting and Finance, Vol. 4, Issue 1, April, 2023 24 Table II Variables definitions and measurements Variable Name Measurement Source(s) Tobin’s Q (TQ) (Market capitalization plus total debt)/ =total assets Siboni and Pourali (2015) Market Share Price (MPS) Closing share price Oniyama et al. (2021) Dividend per share (DPS) Ordinary share dividend/Total number of shares in issue Oniyama et al. (2021) Dividend Pay-out ratio (DPR) (Dividend per share – earning per share)/dividend per share Bon and Hartoko (2022) Dividend yield (DY) DPS/MPS Oniyama et al. (2021) Investment Opportunity (IO) (Fixed assetst2 – fixed assestst1)/Total assetst1 Nasir et al. (2020) Leverage (LEV) Total interest-bearing debt/total assets Hansda et al. (2020) Firm Size (FSIZE) Natural logarithm of total assets Hansda et al. (2020) Industry Dummy (IND) Dummy variable 1= manufacturing companies, 2= service companies Alkurdi and Mardini (2020) Source: Author’s Compilation (2023) 4. Results and Discussions Descriptive statistics and Correlation analysis Table III Descriptive Statistics Variable Obs Mean SD Minimum Maximum TQ MPS DPS DPR DY IO LEV FSIZE IND 300 300 300 300 300 300 300 300 300 1.372 50.258 2.1185 0.586 0.051 0.018 0.108 24.21 1.100 1.255 66.911 3.0537 0.381 0.032 0.041 0.119 1.704 0.301 0.330 2.110 0.080 0.000 0.007 -0.042 0.00 20.657 1.000 4.990 232.98 11.00 1.473 0.117 0.127 0.351 28.381 2.000 Source: STATA Output (2023) Gusau Journal of Accounting and Finance, Vol. 4, Issue 1, April, 2023 25 Table IV Pearson Correlation Variables TQ MPS DPS DPR DY IO FSIZE LEV IND VIF TQ MPS DPS DPR DY IOS FSIZE LEV IND 1.000 0.5620 0.4480 0.2360 -.2983 -.0491 0.1907 0.0641 -.1962 1.000 0.9220 0.1178 -.2484 -.0639 0.5657 0.1708 -.2316 1.000 0.2276 -.0063 -.0781 0.5008 0.1491 -.2004 1.000 0.3816 -.0427 0.0568 -.0538 0.0982 1.000 -.0011 -.2046 -.1013 0.3024 1.00 -.1050 0.1011 0.0159 1.00 0.2225 -.3660 1.00 -.149 1.00 1.42 1.26 1.31 1.03 1.56 1.08 1.24 Source: STATA Output (2023) The table III contains the summary statistics of the variables. The average value of TQ is 1.371967. This shows that non-financial enterprises in Nigeria have an average FV of 1.37 times their total assets. It also has a standard deviation of 1.255198; the lowest and highest values are 0.33 and 4.99 respectively. Score for MPS range from 2.11 to 232.98 respectively. Aside from that, it has a mean of50.25797 and a standard deviation of 66.91101. This suggest that there is a significant difference in share prices between the firms. With regards to independent variables, DPS ranged from 0.08 to 11, with 0.08 being the lowest score and 11 being the highest value. DPS has a mean value of 2.118467 and a standard deviation of 3.053724. The minimal values for DPR and DY are 0 and 0.006865, respectively. DPR had an average value of 0.5857307 and a standard deviation of 1.472727. DY has a 0.050669 mean, a 0.1166667 maximum, and a 0.0317097 standard deviation. Finally, the control variables, the LEV value stood at 0.1081419. This indicates that, on average, 11% of the capital of the sampled companies is debt capital. LEV has a maximum value of 0.3511082 and a standard deviation of 0.118713. FSIZE has a mean value of 24.21 and a standard deviation of 1.704. This shows a wide gap in size between the companies. Table IV contained the pearson correlation analysis of the variables. The correlation matrix suggests that there is a positive correlation between TQ, MPS, DPS and DPR. DY has a negative correlation with TQ, MPS, DPS, and DPR, while a negative correlation exists between DY and IO. Other variables, namely, IO, LEV, and FSIZE, have a positive correlation with TQ, MPS, and DPS. All the correlation values are below 0.8, which indicates the absence of multicollinearity, with the exception of DPS. However, the variance inflation factor (VIF) was run and the result indicated the absence of multicollinearity. Gusau Journal of Accounting and Finance, Vol. 4, Issue 1, April, 2023 26 Regression results The data of the study is a combined both time series and cross-sectional. Therefore, the fixed effect model and random effect model were conducted. The Hausman specification test was also run, and the result indicates that the fixed effect model is appropriate. Furthermore, the Modified Wald test for group-wise heteroscedasticity results shows that there is a problem with heteroscedasticity as the probability values are less than 5%. For this reason, the Pesaran test was conducted to check the presence of cross-sectional dependency, and the result indicates the absence of cross-sectional dependency as the probability values are more than 5%. Finally, the Wooldridge test was run and the probability values were less than 5%, which indicates the presence of autocorrelation. For this reason, the Feasible Generalized Least Squares (FGLS) model was adopted to test the hypothesis. According to (Greene, 2018), FGLS would be preferable when there is a problem of serial-autocorrelation cross-sectional dependency in panel data. The Chi2 value in the first model is given as 185.37 with a probability value of 0.0000 indicating that the model is well-fitted. DPS and DPR have a positive coefficient with TQ. The coefficient and probability values of DPS are given as (β=0.181, P=0.000). This shows a positive correlation between the independent and dependent variables and that DPS has a positive effect on TQ. This also indicates that the value of the company increases as it pays a dividend. DPR also has a positive coefficient value with TQ (β=1.036, P=0.000). Additionally, this suggests that DPR has a significantly positive effect on TQ. This result is in accord with that of Siboni and Pourali (2015) and conflicts with that of Safitri et al. (2020). DY is negatively associated with TQ as it has a negative coefficient value (β=- 16.934, P=0.000). Accordingly, a rise in DY will cause a fall in TQ, and vice versa. As for the control variables, LEV is positively associated with TQ but this relationship is insignificant as the probability value is more than 5%. The FSIZE has a negative significant association with TQ (β=-0.118, P=0.005). As the FSIZE increase by 1%, TQ will fall by 11.8%. In the second model, the coefficient value of DPS is given as β=19.392 with a corresponding probability value of P=0.000, which is less than 5%. This means DP is positively significant in influencing MPS. This is consistent with the studies of (Sarwar 2013; Okeke et al., 2021). DPR has a negative coefficient value of β=- 0.527 with a corresponding probability value of P=0.873, which is more than 5%. This indicates a negative relationship between DPR and MPS. As MPS increases, Gusau Journal of Accounting and Finance, Vol. 4, Issue 1, April, 2023 27 DPR decreases and vice versa. However, the probability value is more than 5%, which is insignificant. This finding contradicts the findings of Nugraha (2019). DY also has a negative coefficient value of β=-503.061, with a corresponding probability value of P=0.000 which is significant at all levels. This indicates a negative relationship between DY and MPS. DY is statistically significant to influence MPS. These findings contradict the findings of Farruk et al. (2017). LEV has a negative, insignificant association with MPS. FSIZE has a positive and significant assocation with MPS. It has a beta coefficient of β= 3.640 a probability value of P = 0.000, which is significant at 1%, 5%, and 10%. Table 3 Regression result (FGLS) TOBIN’S Q MPS Constant DPS DPR DY LEV FSIZE IND Summary Wald Chi2 Hausman Modified Wald test Wooldridge test Coeff. 4.403 0.181 1.036 -16.934 -0.028 -0.118 -0.285 185.37 39.38 2568.86 59.155 P-value 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.954 0.005 0.177 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 Coeff. -66.066 19.392 -0.527 -503.061 0.915 3.640 11.651 3249.24 15.94 3.8e+05 45.001 P-value 0.002 0.000 0.873 0.000 0.925 0.000 0.005 0.0000 0.0070 0.0000 0.0000 Source: STATA Output (2023) Testing Moderating Effect of Investment Opportunity These models are designed to determine if IO modifies the association between dividend policy and company value as determined by TQ and MPS. The fixed effect as well as the random effect models of estimation were conducted since the data is a combined both time series and cross-sectional. The results of the Hausman specification tests showed that the TQ model's fixed effect is the most suitable, but the MPS model's random effect is the most appropriate. Furthermore, the Modified Wald test was also conducted and the result indicates that both models have characterized by the problem of heteroscedasticity. Therefore, both fixed effect and random effect models would be biased Gusau Journal of Accounting and Finance, Vol. 4, Issue 1, April, 2023 28 (Moundigbaye et al., 2018). Consequently, this study employed a Feasible Generalized Least Squares (FGLS) model to correct this abnormality. In the TQ model, the DPS positively influences the TQ (β =0.1832, P=0.000) which means that as the TQ increases, companies increase their dividend per share. DPR also positively impacts TQ (β =1.0395, P=0.000) meaning an increase in TQ will lead to an increase in DPR. This is in line with the findings of Siboni and Pourali (2015) and contradicts the findings of Safitri et al. (2020). Finally, DY negatively influences TQ (β =-17.0431, P=0.000), meaning an increase in TQ will result in a decrease in DY. IO is negatively associated with TQ (β =-0.4579, P = 0.876). However, the relationship is not significant as the probability value is greater than 0.005. This means IO is not significantly associated with TQ. On the interaction variables, which is product of IO and independent variables, DPS_IO, DPR_IO and DY_IO have (β =-0.2079, P=0.785), (β =-0.4530, P=0.929) and (β =6.5672, P=0.895) respectively. However, their probability values are more than 0.005. This indicates that IO did not moderate the relationship between DP and TQ. Among the three control variables, namely LEV, FSIZE, and IND, only FSIZE is statistically significant. With regards to the fourth model, DPS and DY significantly influence the MPS. While DPS influenced it in a positive way (β =19.4749, P=0.000), DY, on the other hand, negatively affects MPS (β =-505.8155, P=0.000). The DPR is not significant as the probability value is more than 0.005. Also, IO is not statistically significant to influence the MPR (β =4.4810, P=0.938) as its probability value is more than 0.005. Also, none of the interaction variables (β =-5.0203, P=0.738), (β =31.9062, P=0.749), and (β =157.1166, P=0.872 for DP_IO, DPR_IO and DY_IO is statistically significant to moderate the relationship between dividend policy and MPS. Therefore, IO did not moderate the relationship between DP and FV. With regards to the control variables, FSIZE and IND are positively and statistically correlated to MPS as they have coefficient and probability values (β =3.6742, P=0.000) and (β =11.3735, P=0.007) respectively. On the other hand, LEV is not statistically significant (β =0.1849, P=0.985). Gusau Journal of Accounting and Finance, Vol. 4, Issue 1, April, 2023 29 Table VI Moderation result (FGLS) TOBIN’S Q MPS Constant DPS DPR DY IO DPS_IO DPR_IO DY_IO LEV FSIZE IND Summary Wald Chi2 Hausman Modified Wald test Wooldridge test Coeff. 4.4508 0.1832 1.0395 -17.0431 -0.4579 -0.2079 -0.4530 6.5672 -0.0055 -0.1191 -0.2865 40.42 2513.09 56.509 P-value 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.876 0.785 0.929 0.895 0.991 0.004 0.180 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 Coeff. -66.668 19.4749 -1.0080 -505.8155 4.4810 -5.0203 31.9062 157.1166 0.1849 3.6742 11.3735 10.47 80271.43 52.935 P-value 0.002 0.000 0.779 0.000 0.938 0.738 0.749 0.872 0.985 0.000 0.007 0.3136 0.0000 0.0000 Source: STATA Output (2023) 5. Conclusion and Recommendation In this study, the focus was to examine the effect of DP on the value of listed Non- financial companies in Nigeria, with IO as the moderating variable. Tobin’s Q and market price per share was used measure of value; dividend per share, dividend payout ratio, and dividend yield served as proxies of DP. The study established that DPS and DPR positively influence TQ and DY yield negatively influences TQ. Also, DR positively influences MPR and DY negatively influences MPS. These findings are in conformity with several prior research conducted in Nigeria and other countries including developing and developed nations. The author concludes that DP influenced the value of listed Non-financial companies in Nigeria. Finally, the study proved that IO do not moderate the relationship between DP and FV. In all four models, the empirical results show a positive association between DPS and both TQ and MP. It is therefore recommended that the company's management be advised to create policies and strategies that increase revenue and decrease expenses to maintain regular dividend payments, which will ultimately increase the value of their firm. 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