The relevance of valuation models: insights from Palestine exchange

Purpose: This paper aims at investigating the relevance of two groups of valuations models: the accounting models based on the Residual Income (RIM) and the Standard Market Model, on equity price, return and volatility relevance. Design & methodology: The models are tested on companies traded on Palestine Exchange (PEX) from 2009 to 2018, using panel regression analysis. Two-price and two-return models derived from RIM to compare with the Market Model and four volatility models. Findings: The standard RIM outperformed other models in equity price modeling. Dividend Discount Model (DDM) outperformed the rest of the models in terms of return estimation. However, we find that the market model can explain equity variance better than RIM and DDM models. Implications: For investors, market beta does not necessarily capture all relevant factors of value, and traditional financial statements are still important in providing relevant information, and different models are used for different values perspectives (price, return, & volatility). Originality: Previous studies focus on comparing the price and return relevance of accounting-based models (RIM and cash flow models). Three aspects differentiate this paper and contribute to its originality: the uniqueness of the context, incorporating the market model into the picture along with the accounting-based models, and adding Volatility dimensions of relevance.