SUSTAINABILITY AND STOCK MARKET EFFECTS: HOW DO ESG RATINGS AFFECT STOCK PRICES?
The present study aims to examine the impact of ESG ratings on the stock prices of companies within the European Union. The central question the study seeks to answer is twofold: firstly, to what extent the ratings issued by the ESG rating partners (MorningStar Sustainalytics, London Stock Exchange Group, and Morgan Stanley Capital International) are consistent with each other, and secondly, to what extent they influence the stock price of companies. A sample of 50 companies was selected from a simple random sample of the 100 largest market capitalisation companies in the European Union. ESG rating data were obtained from three independent rating partners, while stock prices were retrieved from a publicly available stock exchange database for the period 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024. Descriptive statistical analysis, correlation calculations and scaling transformation were used to explore the relationships between ESG ratings and stock prices.
The result of the analysis demonstrates that there is a weak positive correlation between certain ESG ratings, particularly between Morgan Stanley Capital International’s ratings and those of other rating agencies, which can be considered significant. However, the relationship between ESG ratings and stock price movements is weak negative and not significant. Consequently, a negative correlation suggests that the ratings are in fact progressing in a favourable direction. This indicates that other factors are more significant determinants of individual stock price movements.
XIII. ÉVFOLYAM 2025. SPECIAL ISSUES 1. 2-9
DOI: 10.24387/CI.SI.2025.1.1