This study analyzes the information value of cash flow forecasts by
examining the association between cash flow forecasts and target price
forecasting accuracy. As there is a tension in the literature over whether
analysts’ cash flow forecasts are s...
This study analyzes the information value of cash flow forecasts by
examining the association between cash flow forecasts and target price
forecasting accuracy. As there is a tension in the literature over whether
analysts’ cash flow forecasts are sophisticated or not, we can expect that
if they are informative, the target price accuracy will be improved when
analysts issue cash flow forecasts, but in the opposite case, such a result
will not be found.
After conducting empirical analysis on Korean listed firms, I found a
positive association between analysts’ cash flow disclosure and target price accuracy. The effect of cash flow forecast availability on target price
accuracy is significantly larger for higher quality cash flow forecasts. And
this study also shows that the increase in target price accuracy when
analysts make cash flow forecasts is greater for firms whose earnings’
reliability are low, which are earnings management firms for loss
avoidance. This result suggests that analysts are more likely to use cash
flow forecasts in valuation and future stock price forecasting when the
valuation of firms using earnings becomes difficult.