We would normally group these alphabetically, but not today.  We grouped these in order of size and then we used an alphabetic order when it came to the same size of a buyback announcement.  The first group is the billions of dollars.

We then grouped the stocks by size again from the under $1 billion down to $500 million, and then we grouped the buybacks of under $500 million down to $200 million.  Usually we would cut the list off at buybacks of the $100 million and higher but the list was already too big so we cut the Buyback Kings off at $200 million for August.  Lastly, we have a chart at the very end tallying it all up…. Some $28.7 billion for just the $200 million and higher in new or expanded buyback announcements.  There were literally dozens of other buybacks that were closer to the $100 million mark and many more that were less than that.

The $1 billion and higher alone which were announced in August were as follows: Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE: LOW); CVS Caremark Corporation (NYSE: CVS); Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ: CELG); Covidien plc (NYSE: COV); Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU); Discovery Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: DISCA); Harris Corporation (NYSE: HRS); and Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT).

Some of the larger and more impacting buyback announcements have been made by the following companies: Principal Financial Group Inc. (NYSE: PFG); Progressive Waste Solutions Ltd. (NYSE: BIN); Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLF); Life Time Fitness Inc. (NYSE: LTM); AECOM Technology Corp. (NYSE: ACM); Forest Laboratories Inc. (NYSE: FRX); Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE: IPG);  Myriad Genetics Inc. (NASDAQ: MYGN); Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE: RSG); Lorillard, Inc. (NYSE: LO); Newell Rubbermaid Inc. (NYSE: NWL); and TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO).

By now you already know that the attitude of 24/7 Wall St. is that dividends offer better long-term value than buybacks.  We have shown what the dividend yield is for each here, or we have shown that there is no dividend.

Principal Financial Group Inc. (NYSE: PFG) announced that its board of directors has authorized a share buyback plan for up to $200 million in common stock.  This represents about 8.5 million shares at current prices when average daily volume is 2.7 million shares.  Its market cap is about $7.4 billion.  The dividend yield is roughly 2.3% as of today.

Progressive Waste Solutions Ltd. (NYSE: BIN), also referred to as BFI Canada, announced a buyback of up to 4 million shares of common stock.  That is about $80 million at today’s price.  The market cap is $2.5 billion and the average daily volume is about 428,000 shares.  The dividend yield is listed as being about 2.5%.

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLF) has announced the authorization to buy back up to 4 million shares, close to $300 million in total per today’s dollars.  The market cap is nearly $11 billion and the average volume is 3.7 million shares.  The company’s dividend yield is only 1.5%.

In alphabetical order of their ticker symbols:  Avery Dennison Corporation (NYSE: AVY); Bemis Company, Inc. (NYSE: BMS); Dean Foods Co. (NYSE: DF); Johnson Controls Inc. (NYSE: JCI); Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE:  KFT); Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE: LEG); Newell Rubbermaid Inc. (NYSE: NWL); Phillips-Van Heusen Corp. (NYSE: PVH); Rock-Tenn Co. (NYSE: RKT); Sealed Air Corporation (NYSE: SEE); and, Xerox Corp. (NYSE: XRX).

Price to book values range from Xerox’s 1.1 to Johnson Controls’ 2.4.  Even though we identified these companies in searching for attractive price to book values, every one of them offers respectable next-year earnings growth.  Analysts expect next-year earnings expansion ranging from Newell Rubbermaid’s 10.6% to Rock-Tenn’s 39%.  All sport forward PE multiples below 14.   Forward PE’s range from Xerox Corp’s 8.1 to Kraft Foods’ 13.9.

Seven of the eleven companies boast an implied upside price expansion exceeding 20%, based on current share prices versus consensus price targets. Leggett & Platt, Newell Rubbermaid, Xerox and Johnson Controls lead the rest with implied price expansions ranging from more than 27% to close to 31%.  Each of these eleven companies has an average daily trading volume exceeding 750,000 shares. Except where otherwise noted, the source for all performance and financial data is Finviz.com.

Avery Dennison Corporation (NYSE: AVY) has a price to book value near 2.3  to 1.  The company’s market cap is just less than $4 billion giving it a middle-of-the-pack rank among these companies.  Its forward PE is about 10.2.  With a consensus target price of $46.71, the shares have an implied upside exceeding 25%.  Shares of Avery Dennison closed Friday at $37.19, down 1.56%.  The 52-week price range is $30.54 to $43.26.  This outfit that makes labels and other office products recently took a downgrade to “Neutral” at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.  It pays a nice dividend with a yield of close to 2.7% and shares were above $60 back in 2007 before the recession.

Bemis Company, Inc. (NYSE: BMS) has a price to book value of 1.8  to 1.  The company’s market cap is just less than $3.4 billion.  Its forward PE is near 12.5.  With a consensus target price of $34.89, the shares have an implied upside of 8.6% among the lowest of these companies.  Bemis Company shares closed Friday at $32.11, down 0.43.  The 52-week price range is $25.79 to $33.57. The packaging materials company also has a respectable dividend yield of about 3%, even if Goldman Sachs did downgrade the rating to “Sell” in recent weeks..

Dean Foods Co. (NYSE: DF) boasts a price to book value of 1.4  to 1, ranking it second among these companies.  The company’s market cap is $2.2 billion, the smallest of these companies.  Its forward PE is near 13.2, among the highest on this list.  With a consensus target price of $13.50, the shares have an implied upside 12.5%.  In Friday trading Dean Foods closed at $12.00, down 1.80% for the day.  The 52-week trading range is $7.13 to $13.90.  This milk and dairy producer has been in recovery mode.  It made this screen even after a recovery of more than 75% from the bottom.  In 2007, shares were worth more than $40.00.

Johnson Controls Inc. (NYSE: JCI) has a price to book value of 2.4 to 1, a comparatively high price to book value ratio among these companies.  With a market cap exceeding $26 billion, Johnson Controls is the second largest company ranked here.  Its forward PE is a tad greater than 12.  After robust expansion of earnings for the current year, analysts expect next-year earnings expansion exceeding 34%.  With a consensus target price of $48.50, the shares have an implied upside of 23.8%.  Shares of Johnson Controls closed Friday at $39.17, unchanged.  The 52-week price range is $25.63 to $42.35.  The car parts and systems manufacturer is one of the few which pay a dividend (about 1.6%) and this one has recovered mightily from the recession lows when shares fell to well under $10.00.

Atheros Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: ATHR) beat expectations on the surface, but the drop here appears to be tied to weaker PC-related revenues.  There have been under 100,000 shares traded so far, but the stock is trading down 6.75% at $28.40 versus a 52-week range of $21.77 to $43.90 and a close yesterday of $30.46.

Cirrus Logic Inc. (NASDAQ: CRUS) is lower after a 118% gain in revenue to $81.9 million slightly beat Thomson Reuters estimates; Revenue guidance was put at $98 to $106 million, above estimates of $86+ million.  As this is a seller of chips for iPad and iPhone, this wasn’t good enough.  Shares are down 5.7% at $16.48 on over 350,000 shares.  The 52-week range is $4.44 to $18.85.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) is trading lower by 3% at $141.20 on about 1 million shares after the investment banking giant posted lower income.  Keep in mind that there is already talk that the earnings may have been sand-bagged.

International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) was light on the top-line and its raised guidance for 2010 was slightly under consensus.  Shares are down almost 5% at $123.80 on almost 100,000 shares.

MGIC Investment Corporation (NYSE: MTG) is up this morning after a surprise profit after what may have been 3 years worth of losses.  Shares are trading up almost 5% at $8.20 on over 300,000 shares.  Its 52-week range is $3.72 – $13.80.

Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK) must really need a new CEO to lead the company after all of its troubles.  Rumors and reports of a new CEO search have shares up 2.5% at $9.04 on almost 700,000 shares.

SandRidge Energy, Inc. (NYSE: SD) is showing an unexpected rop for a day-two indication now that it has closed on its Arena Resources buyout.  While on thin volume, we show shares down 2% at $6.30 in the pre-market trading.

Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TXN) is getting slapped after meeting expectations.  Shares are down 5.7% at $24.10 on about 140,000 shares.

Tupperware Brands Corporation (NYSE: TUP) is getting hit hard after its Q2 earnings miss.  Shares are down 11.25% at $38.40 on only about 25,000 shares.  Traders may want to watch shares of Newell Rubbermaid Inc. (NYSE: NWL) for any downward sympathy, although no shares of Newell have yet traded this morning.

Zions Bancorp. (NASDAQ: ZION) is getting clipped after an unexpected wider loss.  Shares are down 8.4% at $19.62 on about 200,000 shares.

JON C. OGG

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) Cut to Hold at Standpoint Research.
Financial Engines, Inc. (NASDAQ: FNGN) Started as Neutral at Goldman Sachs; Started as Overweight at Piper Jaffray.
Hewitt Associates Inc. (NYSE: HEW) Raised to Neutral from Sell at Goldman Sachs.
Newell Rubbermaid Inc. (NYSE: NWL) Cut to Market Perform at BMO Capital.
Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) Reiterated Buy and Raised target to $85 at Goldman Sachs.
Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
Prosperity Bancshares (NASDAQ: PRSP) Cut to Neutral at SunTrust Robinson Humphreys.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: HOT) Raised to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE: TMO) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Zimmer Holdings (NYSE: ZMH) Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.

You can join our free daily email distribution list to hear more about dividend trends, analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader and active trader alerts, news on Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

JON C. OGG

Sponsor: 26 Cheap Stocks to Sell - Cheap stocks have been on a tear recently, but nine out of 10 cheap stocks are circling the drain!

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) Raised to Buy at Collins Stewart.
AirGas Inc. (NYSE: ARG) Cut to Neutral at Baird; Cut to Hold at KeyBanc.
Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM) Started as Buy at Citigroup.
CME Group (NYSE: CME) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.
Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) Raised to Buy at Collins Stewart.
Home Depot (NYSE: HD) Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
Newell Rubbermaid (NYSE: NWL) Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
Petrohawk Energy Corporation (NYSE: HK) Cut to Market Perform at Bernstein.
Pricline.com Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLN) Raised to Positive at Susquehanna.
Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) Raised to Neutral at JPMorgan.

You are invited to join our free daily email distribution list to hear about top analyst upgrades and downgrades, IPOs and secondary offerings, ongoing day trader and options trader alerts, stock and market rumors, Buffett and guru investor news, M&A and more.

JON C. OGG
FEBRUARY 8, 2010

• King Pharma (KG) Raised to Overweight at Wachovia.
• Maxim Integrated Products (MXIM) Raised to Market Perform at FBR.
• Newell-Rubbermaid (NWL) Raised to Buy at B of A Merrill.
• Whole Foods (WFMI) Raised to Market Perform at FBR.
• Weyerhaueser (WY) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
• Legg Mason (LM) Cut to Underperform at B of A Merrill.
• Power Integrations (POWI) Cut to Sell at Piper Jaffray.
• Sprint-Nextel (S) Cut to Market Weight at Wachovia.

JON C. OGG

Newell Rubbermaid now expects earnings at $0.06 to $0.10 EPS,excluding a $0.09 tax benefit.  Thomson Reuters (First Call) hasestimates pegged at $0.32 EPS.  The company’s own prior guidancewithout any tax benefit was $0.29 to $0.34 EPS.  The company is takingdown the annual target to $1.17 to $1.21 EPS.

We had noticed how the latest pop in Newell Rubbermaid had taken the stock backup near a resistance level.  It was as if the chart was waiting fornews to catapult it higher from the recent lows or to smack it backdown.  The guidance is one thing that offers no comfort today, but thefurther out comments may put a lid on this one for quite some time.

The company is blaming extraordinary volatility, weaker-than-expecteddemand, and customer inventory reductions in all geographies and marketsegments.  It also said that trends are worsening into the end of thequarter, and management expects no rebound any time soon.

In order to cut costs, the company has announced layoffs, salaryfreezes, inventory reductions, and manufacturing facility closures.

The company may be selling itself short.  If the economy keeps tanking,the company might be able to pass some of its products off as urns forashes of loved ones and pet burial caskets. 

Newell Rubbermaid stock is down more than 10% at $11.75 after about 35minutes of trading.  The stock’s 52-week trading range is $9.42 to$26.30.

Jon C. Ogg
December 17, 2008

• Alcoa (NYSE: AA) back to late 1994.
• Applied Materials (AMAT) back to levels not seen since late 1998.
• Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) may be on the low’s going back to 1990.
• Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW) back to 1995.
• Eastman Kodak (NYSE: EK) back to pre-1980′s.
• Gannett (NYSE: GCI) this may be the worst ever even before the 1990′s.
• General Electric (NYSE: GE) back to April 1997
• Harley Davidson (NYSE: HOG) is no auto company… it is a luxury item or status symbol and back to prices of the 1990′s.
• Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) lows since late 1996 or early 1997.
• International Paper (IP) back to the 1980′s.
• Jones Apparel (NYSE: JNY)… jonesing back to mid 1990′s.
• Macy’s (NYSE: M) back to the early 1990′s.
• Micron Tech (NYSE: MU)… DRAM manufacturing in U.S., like this one is a surprise.
• Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) down to lows of April 1998, at least ifyou smooth out the September 2002 lows and account for the cashdividends.
• Newell Rubbermaid (NYSE: NWL) down to early 1990′s
• News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) back to at least 1995, although may be hard to compare with Fox and Dow Jones attached now.
• Sara Lee (NYSE: SLE) back to the mid-1990′s.
• Seagate Tech (NYSE: STX) post re-IPO lows… yep, disk drives and storage, now risk drive and porridge.
• Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) looks like lows back to 1999. So muchfor all the rewards of great fuel hedging now that oil is so cheapagain.
• Starwood Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: HOT) back to 1996.
• YRC Worldwide (NASDAQ: YRCW) looks like an all-time low or at leastback into the 1980′s.  Forget Yellow, forget Roadway… market cap isnow under $200 million.

As a reminder, some of these may have had special dividends which maynot have been screened out and some have engaged in spin-offs which mayalso have changed the numbers.  But either way, you get the idea here.We are above and beyond 52-week lows now. 

Jon C. Ogg
November 20, 2008