ANALYSIS OF THE DETERMINANTS OF DIVIDEND PAYOUT OF CONSUMER GOODS COMPANIES IN NIGERIA

The study examines the determinants of dividend payout of consumer goods companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. The Nigerian Stock Exchange has 28 listed consumer goods companies. Purposive sampling technique was used and a sample of nine consumer goods companies for a duration of ten years from 2006 to 2015 was selected. Secondary data were collected from audited financial statements of the companies from the websites of the selected companies. Dividend payout ratio was the dependent variable while the independent variables were market value, profitability, financial leverage, company size and previous year dividend payout. Descriptive statistics and multiple regressions were used. Results showed that company market value has significant positive effect on dividend payout; company profitability has positive, but insignificant effect on dividend payout; company leverage has negative and insignificant effect on dividend payout; company size has negative and insignificant effect on dividend payout; and previous year's dividend has significant positive effect on dividend payout. The study thus concluded that market value and previous year's dividend are the major determinants of dividend payout in consumer goods sector in Nigeria.