Stock Split and Reverse Stock Splits
What Is Stock Split?
A stock split is a corporate action in which a company divides its existing shares into multiple shares to boost the liquidity of the shares. Although the number of shares outstanding increases by a specific multiple, the total dollar value of the shares remains the same compared to pre-split amounts, because the split does not add any real value. The most common split ratios are 2-for-1 or 3-for-1, which means that the stockholder will have two or three shares, respectively, for every share held earlier.
What Is Reverse Stock Splits
A traditional stock split is also known as a forward stock split. A reverse stock splitis the opposite of a forward stock split. A company that issues a reverse stock split decreases the number of its outstanding shares and increases the share price. Like a forward stock split, the market value of the company after a reverse stock split would remain the same. A company that takes this corporate action might do so if its share price had decreased to a level at which it runs the risk of being delistedfrom an exchange for not meeting the minimum price required to be listed. A company might also reverse split its stock to make it more appealing to investors who may perceive it as more valuable if it had a higher stock price.
A reverse/forward stock split is a special stock split strategy used by companies to eliminate shareholders that hold fewer than a certain number of shares of that company's stock. A reverse/forward stock split uses a reverse stock split followed by a forward stock split. The reverse split reduces the overall number of shares a shareholder owns, causing some shareholders who hold less than the minimum required by the split to be cashed out. The forward stock split increases the overall number of shares a shareholder owns.
