بررسي رابطه بين جريان هاي نقدآزاد و سياست تقسيم سود در شركت هاي پذيرفته شده در بورس تهران

The relationship between free cash flow and dividend policy in companies listed in the Tehran stock exchange

The purpose of the present study is to investigate the role and position of free cash flow as a low-cost internal financial resource compared to other financial resource in making managerial decisions. It also seeks to examine the relationship between the free cash flow and dividend policy, considering the two variables; investment opportunities and the size of the companies. According to the free cash flow theory and Jensen theory (1986), large companies, having different ways of procuring financial resources, as well as companies with low opportunity of investment, are expected to have high free cash flow. For the purposes of this study, 125 companies were selected from among the Tehran stock exchange, the analysis of the data was carried out, using the correlation matrix, Pearsons correlation coefficient and the linear regression. The results of the study showed that managers of the companies in their decisions regarding dividend policy consider the three factors; free cash flow, investment opportunities and size. The results confirm the free cash flow theory, and the data from the financial statements of the companies under study proves that the Jensen theory holds true at Tehran stock exchange.