This Week's Key Stock Buybacks & Repurchases (SYK, NILE, TDC, WW, CPWR, CE, EFX, VARI)

While earnings season is slowly winding down and while the economy is obviously cooling, we still have many large and small companies alike with solid balance sheets or that have extra cash to deploy on hand.  These are some of the key share buybacks we have seen this week.

Stryker (NYSE: SYK) announced a general $750 million for share buybacks for general corporate purposes and to offset dilution from options. This is one of the larger buyback plans announced, but it is small in comparison to its market cap of $27.93 billion.

Blue Nile (NASDAQ: NILE) approved a $100 million share buyback. With its poor guidance, buybacks may only partially help a growing problem. The current market cap sits at about $688.11 million.

Teradata (NYSE: TDC) announced a $250 million stock buyback plan. With positive 2008 guidance, future earnings per share should grow. The current market cap is $4.27 billion.

Watson Wyatt (NYSE: WW) announced a $100 million stock buyback plan.  The company noted that the buybacks will help offset dilution from employee benefit plans.  Its current market cap is $2.21 billion

Compuware (NASDAQ: CPWR) announced a $750 million buyback plan to reduce the balance of outstanding common shares to 200 million. They currently have 281.4 million shares outstanding. The current market cap is $2.27 billion.

Celanese (NYSE: CE) Board approved a $400 million share buyback. The CEO noted that the buyback demonstrates their commitment to delivering value to shareholders while retaining financial flexibility. The current market cap is $6.04 billion.

Equifax (NYSE: EFX) announced a $250 million share buyback approval. It is yet another in a series of buybacks valued at about $1.08 billion since 2004. The current market cap is $4.53 billion.

Varian (NYSE: VARI) Board approved a $100 million share repurchase program. The buybacks could boost an already healthy stock. The current market cap is $6.53 billion.

Rachel Lopez
February 15, 2008