145 research outputs found
Stock gifts: an analysis of the determinants of the donation decision, the transfer motive, and the post-donation behavior
No full textKRIITTISTEN LAITTEIDEN ENNAKKOHUOLTO
No full textTIIVISTELMÄ
Oulun ammattikorkeakoulu
Kone ja tuotantotekniikan tutkinto-ohjelma
Tekijä: Samuli Pietarila
Opinnäytetyön nimi: Kriittisten laitteiden ennakkohuolto
Työn ohjaajat: Kari Penson ja Kai Jokinen
Työn valmistumislukukausi ja -vuosi: Syksy 2016 Sivumäärä: 45 + 5 liitettä
Opinnäytetyö on tehty Paroc Oy Ab Oulun kivivillatehtaalle. Työn tavoitteena oli löytää prosessilinjan alkupään osalta kriittisimmät laitteet sekä kehittää näiden laitteiden toimintavarmuutta ennakoivalla kunnossapidolla. Toimintavarmuutta kehitettiin selvittämällä kriittisten laitteiden varaosasaatavuudet, huollettavuudet sekä mahdolliset korvaavat laitemuutokset.
Huoltokohteet kartoitettiin kriittisyysanalyysin, tehtaan historiadokumenttien sekä laitevalmistajan toimittamien laitedokumenttien pohjalta. Tarkasteltavana alueena oli prosessilinjan alkupää, joka käsittää prosessin laitteistosta vanhinta laitekantaa. Kriittisille laitteille luotiin ennakoivat kunnonvalvonta- ja huolto-ohjelmat.
Työn tuloksena selvisi prosessin alkupään vikaherkimmät laitteet. Kriittisille laitteille kehitettiin ennakkohuolto-ohjelma, selvitettiin varaosien saatavuus sekä löydettiin korvaavat uudenaikaiset laitteet. Suurimmat haasteet tulivat tehtaan laitehistorian dokumentoinnin vajavaisuudesta, jolloin laitteiden vikahistoria on haastavaa selvittää jälkeenpäin.ABSTRACT
Oulu University of Applied Sciences
Mechanical and production engineering
Author: Samuli Pietarila
Title of thesis: Preventive Maintenance of Critical Equipment
Supervisors: Kari Penson and Kai Jokinen
Term and year when the thesis was submitted: Autumn 2016 Pages: 45 + 5 appendices
This thesis was made for Paroc Oy Ab Oulu stone wool factory. The objective was to identify the critical equipment at the beginning of the process line and to improve the reliability of such equipment with preventive maintenance. Reliability was developed by studying the availability of the spare parts of critical equipment as well as the serviceability, and potential compensatory devices of critical equipment.
Service points were mapped by using criticality analysis, on the basis of the documents provided by the machine history and the documents provided by the manufacturer. The focus of the examination was on the beginning of the process line where the machinery is oldest. Predictive condition monitoring and maintenance programs were created for the critical equipment.
The results showed the most fault-sensitive devices at the beginning of the process. A preventive maintenance program was developed for the critical equipment, the availability of spare parts was examined and modern replacement devices were found. The biggest challenges came from the incomplete documentation of the history of the devices. When the documentation is incomplete the fault history of the equipment is difficult to find out afterwards
ESG-luokitusten ja REIT-osaketuottojen sekä markkinavaluaation välinen yhteys: Todisteita Yhdysvaltain markkinoilta
No full textThis thesis investigates how ESG ratings relate to the stock returns and valuations of U.S. Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) during the period 2015-2023. It also examines how divergences between ESG rating agencies contribute to differences in these financial outcomes. The study focuses on publicly listed U.S. REITs and contributes to the existing literature by being among the first to compare disaggregated ESG components across three major rating agencies, Refinitiv, MSCI, and Sustainalytics, in the context of U.S. REITs. This study hypothesises that high ESG-performing REITs exhibit higher valuation multiples and lower returns, and that discrepancies between ESG ratings weaken the relationship between ESG scores and REIT performance.
This study utilises a data sample of 12,087 monthly observations covering 175 unique publicly listed U.S. REITs from January 2015 to December 2023. Of these REITs, 141 (81%) have Refinitiv ESG data, 134 (77%) have MSCI ESG data, and 75 (43%) have Sustainalytics ESG data. The relationship between ESG ratings and REIT performance is examined from two perspectives. First, the study explores how ESG ratings are associated with stock returns. Second, it examines the link between ESG ratings and REIT market valuations.
The empirical results mainly suggest that higher ESG-rated U.S. REITs tend to deliver lower stock returns. However, during 2015-2019, Sustainalytics ESG ratings show a positive association with returns. Second, ESG ratings are generally positively associated with REIT market valuations. This highlights the market’s favourable image of ESG investments. Third, significant evidence indicates that rating discrepancies across agencies weaken the overall predictive power of ESG ratings on REIT’s financial performance. Finally, this study finds that the environmental component is negatively associated with REIT returns in most conditions. The social component is positively related with market valuation but negatively with stock returns, while the governance component shows no significant or consistent relationship with returns or valuations.Tässä pro gradu -tutkielmassa tarkastellaan ESG-luokitusten yhteyttä yhdysvaltalaisten REIT-yhtiöiden osaketuottoihin ja markkinavaluaatioon vuosina 2015–2023. Tutkimuksessa selvitetään miten ESG-luokituslaitosten väliset erot vaikuttavat näihin suhteisiin. Tutkielma keskittyy julkisesti listattuihin yhdysvaltalaisiin REIT-yhtiöihin ja on yksi ensimmäisistä tutkimuksista, joka vertailee kolmen keskeisen ESG-luokituslaitoksen (Refinitiv, MSCI ja Sustainalytics) erillisiä ympäristö-, yhteiskunta- ja hallintokomponentteja. Tutkimuksen hypoteesina on, että korkean ESG-luokituksen REIT-yhtiöillä on korkeammat markkinavaluaatiot ja matalammat tuotot. Lisäksi tämä tutkimus olettaa, että ESG-luokituslaitosten väliset erot heikentävät näitä suhteita.
Aineistona käytetään 12 087 kuukausittaista yrityshavaintoa 175 erillisestä julkisesti listatusta yhdysvaltalaisesta REIT-yhtiöstä tammikuusta 2015 joulukuuhun 2023. Näistä 141:llä (81 %) on Refinitivin, 134:llä (77 %) on MSCI:n ja 75:llä (43 %) on Sustainalyticsin ESG-luokitusdataa. ESG-luokitusten ja REIT-yhtiöiden taloudellisen suorituskyvyn välistä suhdetta tutkitaan kahdesta näkökulmasta. Tutkimuksessa analysoidaan ensin osaketuottojen ja ESG-luokitusten välistä yhteyttä ja toiseksi ESG-luokitusten ja markkinavaluaation suhdetta.
Tutkimuksen tulokset osoittavat, että korkeamman ESG-luokituksen REIT-yhtiöillä on keskimäärin matalammat osaketuotot, joskin Sustainalyticsin ESG-luokituksilla havaitaan positiivinen yhteys vuosina 2015–2019. ESG-luokitusten ja REIT-yhtiöiden markkinavaluaation välillä havaitaan keskimäärin positiivinen yhteys, mikä heijastaa markkinoiden positiivista suhtautumista vastuulliseen sijoittamiseen. Lisäksi tutkimuksessa havaitaan vahvaa näyttöä siitä, että ESG-luokitusten erot eri luokituslaitosten välillä heikentävät niiden ennustusvoimaa osaketuottojen ja valuaation suhteen. Komponenttitason tarkastelussa ympäristöarvosanoilla on useimmiten negatiivinen yhteys osaketuottoihin, kun taas sosiaalinen komponentti on positiivisesti yhteydessä valuaatioon mutta negatiivisesti tuottoihin. Hallintokomponentti ei osoita tilastollisesti merkitsevää tai johdonmukaista yhteyttä
Which Investors Leave Money on the Table? Evidence from Rights Issues
No full textThis study documents patterns of investor behavior around Finnish rights issues. We find that shareholders of issuing companies lost at least €9.9 million in aggregate from 1995 to 2002 by exercising rights too early, selling rights in the open market below their intrinsic value, or leaving rights unexercised. At the investor level, the losses are modest. For example, the median household investor suffered a loss of €135 from not exercising or selling the rights. Investors with small portfolios, inactive trading history, those who know neither of the official languages in Finland, or who are living abroad leave money on the table the most. Copyright 2008, Oxford University Press.
Do foreign institutional investors improve ESG ratings and reduce rating dispersion? Evidence from the US
No full textThe integration of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors into firms’ and investors’ decision-making has gained substantial momentum over the last decade. Despite the rising importance of ESG, significant challenges persist, including controversies in ESG ratings across rating agencies undermining investor confidence and complicating ESG performance assessment of firms. This thesis investigates the role of foreign institutional investors in influencing U.S. firms’ ESG performance reflected in ESG ratings and reducing rating dispersion between the two most used agencies, MSCI and Refinitiv, during the period 2013–2023.
Using a comprehensive dataset and employing an instrumental variable approach to address endogeneity concerns, we examine the impact of foreign institutional ownership in two dimensions: its effect on enhancing firms’ ESG scores and its role in harmonizing ESG assessments. Additionally, we include a country-level social norm perspective to explore how the social norms of investors’ home countries influence their impact in shaping firms’ ESG practices. By distinguishing between short-term and long-term investors, we further provide insights into the characteristics that drive ESG ratings.
The findings reveal that foreign institutional ownership significantly improves ESG ratings while also reducing rating dispersion. Long-term investors and those from high social-norm countries are particularly effective in driving these improvements. The results highlight the importance of foreign institutional investors in promoting sustainable and standardized investment practices
State ownership and firm performance: New evidence from Europe
No full textThis thesis investigates the effect of state ownership on firm market valuation, profitability, and stock returns in Europe over the period from 2000 to 2023. Expanding upon prior literature, we extend the analysis into the 2020s and incorporate the effect of the Covid-19-induced stock market decline. Using a dataset comprising 421 state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and 4,039 privately-owned enterprises (POEs) across 23 European countries, representing a total of 54,787 firm-year observations, we offer a comprehensive, continent-wide perspective on the impacts of state ownership.
Applying an ordinary least squares (OLS) framework, we document a 3.1% lower valuation for SOEs relative to their privately-owned counterparts. This valuation discount is robust across Europe, with consistent regional patterns of lower SOE valuations. Similarly, we find a negative effect on profitability, documenting a 1.4 percentage points lower return on assets for SOEs. However, during the Covid-19 market downturn, SOEs experienced cumulative stock returns that were 2.2 percentage points higher than those of non-state-owned firms.
Our findings suggest that while state ownership provides downside protection during financial crises, it may be less advantageous compared to private ownership during more stable periods. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to simultaneously examine valuation, profitability, and stock market returns within a single European sample
Hedge funds ESG short selling and implications to stock market
No full textThe effect of ESG information on short selling is still somewhat shrouded in mystery as the existing literature has reported contradicting findings. We aim to shed light on the matter as we study the ESG information’s effect on hedge funds’ short positions from multiple angles.
Our research studies how hedge funds utilize ESG information in decision-making as to whether they sell short a target company or not. We found that hedge fund preferences have shifted during our sample period as for initial years, the hedge funds preferred lower ESG stocks in their short selling, but in later years, the preference shifted to higher ESG performing companies. This effect is more pronounced on lower deciles while simultaneously, the short selling is more focused on the higher ESG companies, indicating that hedge funds favor “greener” stocks in their short selling.
Similarly, we studied how the target company’s ESG performance affects the size of the hedge fund’s short selling. We find that hedge funds seem to increase their short positions when ESG controversies arise, while a strong ESG and its sub-pillar performance decreases the net short position’s size.
We also studied the short selling’s implications on the target company’s profitability and risk. We find that the size of the short-selling position decreases the profitability measured by cumulative abnormal return and price return alike which would indicate that the short selling is profitable and that the short sellers hold valuable information. The size of the short-selling position also increases the target’s volatility which indicates that the short-selling decreases the target stock’s profitability and increases its risk as the volatility increases. These findings suggest that either the hedge fund holds valuable information about the targets or the short-selling actions have a signaling effect on other market participants.
Our findings continue the already existing but scarce academic discussion on ESG information’s effect on short selling by suggesting that hedge funds' short positions are profitable and that higher ESG performance attracts more short sellers, but their short positions are smaller in size compared to lower ESG performance that is targeted with fewer short sellers but with more significant short positions
Do foreign institutional investors improve ESG ratings and reduce rating dispersion? Evidence from the US
No full textThe integration of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors into firms’ and investors’ decision-making has gained substantial momentum over the last decade. Despite the rising importance of ESG, significant challenges persist, including controversies in ESG ratings across rating agencies undermining investor confidence and complicating ESG performance assessment of firms. This thesis investigates the role of foreign institutional investors in influencing U.S. firms’ ESG performance reflected in ESG ratings and reducing rating dispersion between the two most used agencies, MSCI and Refinitiv, during the period 2013–2023.
Using a comprehensive dataset and employing an instrumental variable approach to address endogeneity concerns, we examine the impact of foreign institutional ownership in two dimensions: its effect on enhancing firms’ ESG scores and its role in harmonizing ESG assessments. Additionally, we include a country-level social norm perspective to explore how the social norms of investors’ home countries influence their impact in shaping firms’ ESG practices. By distinguishing between short-term and long-term investors, we further provide insights into the characteristics that drive ESG ratings.
The findings reveal that foreign institutional ownership significantly improves ESG ratings while also reducing rating dispersion. Long-term investors and those from high social-norm countries are particularly effective in driving these improvements. The results highlight the importance of foreign institutional investors in promoting sustainable and standardized investment practices
- …
