The Influence of Earnings Per Share, Debt to Equity Ratio and Company Size on Stock Return

Abstract

The activities of manufacturing companies that utilize technology have provided easy information for investors. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in uncertainty for investors, where the asymmetric stock return response also impacts the financial markets in Indonesia. This paper examines the influence of earnings per share (EPS), debt-to-equity ratio (DER), and firm size (FS) on stock return (SR). Using a purposive sampling method with manufacturing companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange on the 2016-2020 period and moderated regression analysis (MRA) as a tool for testing variables. This study uses the document analysis method of social research for exploring the theoretical model and empirical results on how earnings per share, debt to equity ratio, and company size on stock returns. The results showed from various empirical results, there is still little research on the ability of earning per share, debt to equity ratio, and company size as variables to analyze manufacturing companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange. The results of the study can be expected to contribute to further research and facilitate the government to approach the development of manufacturing companies to encourage the economy. Meanwhile, investors can be informed about the company’s financial performance. This study will provide advanced research guidance and convenience to the companies in providing solutions on increasing market value by increasing earnings per share, debt-to-equity ratio, and company size on stock returns. Keywords: earning per share (EPS), debt to equity ratio (DER), firm size (FS), stock return (SR), manufacturing companies