Via Factset Research. I wonder what other parameters activists-involved companies have in common?
We’ve always known that activists target companies with lagging returns, but using the FactSet SharkRepellent database and FactSet total return data, we can now see exactly how much a stock normally falls before coming into activist crosshairs.
The study, which looks at all activist campaigns with primary campaign type Board Control, Board Representation, Maximize Shareholder Value or Remove Officer since 1-1-2006, shows that median one-year underperformance leading up to the week prior to campaign announcement is 22.2% versus same-period Russell 3000 return, and three-year underperformance is 41.0%. (The week prior to the campaign announcement often sees a bump as the activist raises its stake, so the measurement period ends there.)
In the below chart, one can see the cumulative median underperformance preceding campaign announcements steadily increases over the course of the three years. The thick blue line is the median underperformance. The underperformance for companies targeted in 2013 is highlighted in red. Underperformance is steepest in the year prior to the campaign announcement, but activist targets also underperformed in the second and third years prior to the campaign announcement.
Naturally,
companies were much more likely to face an activist campaign if they
underperformed. Of the 1,123 activist targets with available three-year
returns, 70.3% underperformed the Russell 3000 by at least 10 percentage
points. In contrast, only 21.5% of activist targets outperformed by
more than 10 percentage points, implying that significant
underperformers are more than three times more likely to be targeted by
activists than significant outperformers. (The remaining 8.2% of
companies matched the Russell 3000 within 10 percentage points.)
The chart below shows in blue the distribution of pre-announcement activist target three-year out/underperformance versus the Russell 3000 index. For comparison, the three-year out/underperformance distribution of the current individual Russell 3000 constituents is included in green.
The activist formula hasn’t changed much over the years: 2013’s median 1-year and 3-year underperformance was 22.0% and 41.0% respectively, close to the previously mentioned medians for all years of 22.2% and 41.0%. That said, activists have indeed had to target companies with positive, if not outperforming, returns: the median 3-year total returns for 2012 and 2013’s activist targets were positive for the first time since 2006.
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We’ve always known that activists target companies with lagging returns, but using the FactSet SharkRepellent database and FactSet total return data, we can now see exactly how much a stock normally falls before coming into activist crosshairs.
The study, which looks at all activist campaigns with primary campaign type Board Control, Board Representation, Maximize Shareholder Value or Remove Officer since 1-1-2006, shows that median one-year underperformance leading up to the week prior to campaign announcement is 22.2% versus same-period Russell 3000 return, and three-year underperformance is 41.0%. (The week prior to the campaign announcement often sees a bump as the activist raises its stake, so the measurement period ends there.)
In the below chart, one can see the cumulative median underperformance preceding campaign announcements steadily increases over the course of the three years. The thick blue line is the median underperformance. The underperformance for companies targeted in 2013 is highlighted in red. Underperformance is steepest in the year prior to the campaign announcement, but activist targets also underperformed in the second and third years prior to the campaign announcement.
Naturally,
companies were much more likely to face an activist campaign if they
underperformed. Of the 1,123 activist targets with available three-year
returns, 70.3% underperformed the Russell 3000 by at least 10 percentage
points. In contrast, only 21.5% of activist targets outperformed by
more than 10 percentage points, implying that significant
underperformers are more than three times more likely to be targeted by
activists than significant outperformers. (The remaining 8.2% of
companies matched the Russell 3000 within 10 percentage points.)The chart below shows in blue the distribution of pre-announcement activist target three-year out/underperformance versus the Russell 3000 index. For comparison, the three-year out/underperformance distribution of the current individual Russell 3000 constituents is included in green.
The activist formula hasn’t changed much over the years: 2013’s median 1-year and 3-year underperformance was 22.0% and 41.0% respectively, close to the previously mentioned medians for all years of 22.2% and 41.0%. That said, activists have indeed had to target companies with positive, if not outperforming, returns: the median 3-year total returns for 2012 and 2013’s activist targets were positive for the first time since 2006.
Read more FactSet Insight
Click to Unsubscribe
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