Kent L. Womack

Professor of Finance

E-Mail: kent.l.womack@tuck.dartmouth.edu
Phone: 646-2806

BA, Yale University, 1978; MBA, Stanford University, 1982; PhD, Cornell University, 1995

Areas of expertise

Analysts’ value and conflicts of interest, initial public offerings, underwriting

Current research topics

Wall Street analysts, their decision making and value to investors; cost-benefit for initial public offering selling mechanisms—bookbuilding versus auctions

Selected Publications

"Do Brokerage Analysts' Recommendations Have Investment Value?" Journal of Finance, 51, March 1996; with R. Michaely, "Conflict of Interest and the Credibility of Underwriter Analyst Recommendations," Review of Financial Studies, 12, 1999; with L. Krigman and W. Shaw, "The Persistence of IPO Mispricing and the Predictive Power of Flipping," Journal of Finance, 53, June 1999; with L. Krigman and W. Shaw, "Why Do Firms Switch Underwriters?" Journal of Financial Economics, 60, 2001; with R. Aggarwal and L. Krigman, "Strategic IPO Underpricing, Information Momentum, and Lockup Expiration Selling," Journal of Financial Economics, 2002; with F. Derrien, "Auctions vs. Bookbuilding and the Control of Underpricing in Hot IPO Markets," Review of Financial Studies, 2003; with L. Boni, "Wall Street Research: Will New Rules Change Its Usefulness?"Financial Analysts Journal, 59(3), May/June 2003; with L. Boni, "Analysts, Industries, and Price Momentum," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 2006; with F. Degeorge and F. Derrien, "Analyst Hype in IPOs: Explaining the Popularity of Bookbuilding," Review of Financial Studies, 2007

Working Papers

With R. Michaely, "What Are Analysts Really Good At?"; with Ambrus Kecskés, "Additions and Drops of Analyst Coverage"

Awards

Chicago Quantitative Alliance IBES Best Paper, 1996; Western Finance Association/AAII Best Investments Paper, 1996; Brennan/RFS Best Paper runner-up, 2000; SWX Best Paper, Swiss Society for Financial Research, 2006

Professional Activities

Academic positions: Tuck School of Business, 1994–present; Visiting Associate Professor, Graduate School of Business, The University of Chicago, 2003

Nonacademic positions: Vice President, Goldman, Sachs & Co., 1982–89

Editorial positions: Coeditor, Financial Economics Network Educator