FIRM VALUE AND ITS CHARACTERISTICS: EVIDENCE FROM LISTED HEALTHCARE ENTERPRISES IN NIGERIA

This study examined firm value sequel to the firm characteristics of listed Healthcare Enterprises within the Nigerian context. The goal is to determine how the selected firm characteristics influence value of Nigerian healthcare enterprises. Ex-post facto design was employed to conduct this study; and this involved the application of panel data. Two proxies represented firm value; share prices and Tobin’s Q. Secondary data gathered from the annual financial reports of the 10 firms was analyzed using panel data regression. Firm size was found to have positive impact on the firm value of listed Enterprises in the Healthcare Sector of Nigeria. The study also discovered that liquidity had a negative substantial impact on the firm value, implying that having too much liquidity is detrimental to the firms' value. It was found that financial leverage has a significantly negative impact on firm value. The study recommended that Healthcare Enterprises' management should expand their investment portfolio in order to broaden their scope of operations. Healthcare Enterprises neither should create solid current asset management procedures to guarantee that inadequate nor are unneeded funds invested in current assets.