Weyerhaeuser and competitors Plum Creek Timber Co. Inc. (NYSE: PCL) and Rayonier Inc. (NYSE: RYN) are REITs, while smaller competitor Pope Resources LP (NASDAQ: POPE) is a limited partnership. Over the past 12 months, only Rayonier has significantly boosted its share price. Rayonier’s jump was almost entirely due to a 1-for-1.5 stock split in late July.

Wood products companies such as Louisiana-Pacific Corp. (NYSE: LPX), Universal Forest Products Inc. (NASDAQ: UFPI), BlueLinx Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BXC), Builders FirstSource Inc. (NASDAQ: BLDR), and Deltic Timber Corp. (NYSE: DEL) have performed better. These companies are more closely tied to the US homebuilding and remodeling market, which has been improving in the first quarter of this year.

But will that continue? The bigger companies like Weyerhaeuser, Plum Creek, and Rayonier depend on exports to China to keep revenues and profits up. Chinese log imports totaled $8 billion last year, and North American logs contributed 22% of China’s total imports in 2011.
The bad news is that Chinese imports fell -11% in the first three months of this year, but the losses hit New Zealand and Russia hardest. Canadian log exports to China rose 23% in the first quarter and US exports rose 2%. And those gains were due, at least in part, to lower prices for North American logs.

New home construction in the US will drive log and lumber prices. If more homes are built, US demand will rise and so will prices. The various indicators for increased homebuilding in the US are mixed, but the optimistic view that construction will increase is certainly problematic. A warm winter could have pulled some construction starts ahead into the first quarter. The same is true of remodeling projects that would have improved the first quarter performance of the wood products companies.

Weyerhaeuser, which also builds and sells houses, “anticipates a small loss from single family homebuilding operations” in the second quarter. The company’s first quarter revenue from home sales fell by about -50% sequentially. While that’s not a leading indicator for the rest of the country’s homebuilders, it could be the canary in the coal mine.

Weyerhaeuser’s shares are up 0.9% in pre-market trading this morning, at $21.06, in a 52-wekik range of $14.82-$23.91.

Paul Ausick

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA down about 17 points to 12,845.20 (-0.13%), the NASDAQ fell almost 4 points (-0.13%) to 2,901.99, and the S&P 500 fell -0.04% or less than 1 point to 1,344.33.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) raised to ‘buy’ at BofA/ML; Weyerhaeuser Co. (NYSE: WY) cut to ‘sell’ at UBS; Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA) raised to ‘outperform’ at RBS; Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) raised to ‘outperform’ at Piper Jaffray; and Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE: RDS-A) cut to ‘neutral’ at Credit Suisse.

Earnings reports since markets closed last week have led to some price changes as of the last half hour of trading today: Integrated Device Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: IDTI) is down -0.98% at $6.60; McKesson Corp. (NYSE: MCK) is up 1.71% at $82.18; Plum Creek Timber Co. Inc. (NYSE: PCL) is up 0.32% at $39.81; Changyou.com Ltd. (NASDAQ: CYOU) is down -12.43% at $25.50; Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) is down -5.8% at $84.90; Lazard Ltd. (NYSE: LAZ) is down -4.3% at $27.65; Loews Corp. (NYSE: L) is down -0.85% at $38.28; and Sysco Corp. (NYSE: SYY) is down -4% at $29.66.

Other standouts from today include the following stocks:

SureWest Communications (NASDAQ: SURW) is up more than 44% at $22.50 after posting a new 52-week high of $22.69 earlier. The telecom provider has agreed to be acquired by Consolidated Communications Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CNSL) for about $341 million, or $23/share.

O’Charley’s Inc. (NASDAQ: CHUX) is up nearly 42% at $9.81 after posting a new 52-week high of $9.88. The company has agreed to be acquired by Fidelity National Financial Inc. (NYSE: FNF) for $221 million, about $9.85/share.

Sohu.com Inc. (NASDAQ: SOHU) is down nearly -15% at $53.61. The Chinese internet company posted solid earnings, but its Q1 forecast was below expectations.

Great Basin Gold Ltd. (AMEX: GBG) is down -11% at $1.05. The junior gold miner reported preliminary results today that were worse than expected and lowered first quarter production estimates.

Dendreon Corp. (NASDAQ: DNDN) is up about 17.6% at $16.66. The drug maker is getting a boost from a negative report on a prostate cancer drug treatment that would compete with Dendreon’s Provenge.

Stay tuned for Tuesday. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke testifies before Senate Budget Committee. We have noted the following events on the schedule (all times Eastern):

• 11:30 a.m. – 4- and 52-week Treasury bill auction
• 3:00 p.m. – Consumer credit report

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Paul Ausick

Which U.S. industries and companies stand to get hit the hardest in the event a trade war gets started? The U.S. Census Bureau provides data on the dollar amounts of U.S. imports from and exports to China that we have looked at to see where the impacts could be the largest.

According the Census Bureau data, in 2010 the U.S. imported goods from China worth about $365 billion, while exporting goods worth about $92 billion. If the U.S. were to implement tariffs on imports, the likeliest targets would be the goods with the largest dollar value. These imports include computer, semiconductors and telecom gear worth about $88 billion in 2010, clothing and other household goods worth an aggregate of about $71 billion, toys and similar items worth about $27 billion, televisions and other video equipment worth about $15 billion.

If all that sounds like the stuff you can buy at Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT) or Target (NYSE: TGT) or any number of other U.S. department stores, then be prepared to pay more for these items. Because comparatively little clothing or TVs or toys are manufactured in the U.S. any longer, an import duty on these items would hurt U.S. consumers without providing a lot of help to U.S. manufacturers. Hopes that a new manufacturing segment might spring up are not likely to be realized among large companies but smaller manufacturers could gain some benefit.

However, if China responds with import tariffs of its own, several major U.S. industries could get seriously hurt. Raw materials exports such as coal, copper, iron ore, lumber, and other metals are particularly vulnerable. So are agricultural products like soybeans, cotton, and corn. Industrial and agricultural machinery exports could also face penalties. Another substantial U.S. export is automobiles.

Coal miners like Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU) and Arch Coal (NYSE: ACI) could get hit, as could copper miners Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold (NYSE: FCX) and Rio Tinto (NYSE: RIO). Lumber companies Weyerhaeuser (NYSE: WY) and Plum Creek Timber (NYSE: PCL) could face higher duties on log exports.

Agricultural products companies such as Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE: ADM) and Bunge (NYSE: BG) could be in China’s sights if duties are applied to food exports. Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) and Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) are likely to see prices for their equipment rise with a concomitant loss of sales to competitors from Japan and Korea.

General Motors (NYSE: GM) and Ford Motor (NYSE: F) both look to China as a growth opportunity. In 2010 U.S. car sales in China totaled more than $3 billion. Slapping a tariff on U.S. cars could really chill the hopes of the U.S. automakers. General Electric (NYSE: GE) could also face tariffs on industrial engines and parts, as well as aircraft parts and other equipment.

China has been fighting inflation for most of this year by restricting bank lending and raising interest rates. Absent a significant currency adjustment, this does little good for the global economy and not much long-term good for China’s domestic economy. If the yuan were allowed to float freely, it could appreciate by as much as 30%. That would quickly eliminate the inflation threat in China, bringing the cost of the country’s goods more into line with foreign costs, slowing the country’s exports, and giving other economies a chance to fill the gap and begin growing again.

But that outcome does not appear likely. Instead, China appears willing to fight the Senate legislation with a trade war. The war of words is likely to last well into next year, but the first real shot is already being primed.

Paul Ausick

The company is selling its hardwoods and shipping lines businesses as it tries to deal with continuing problems with demand for lumber in the US housing market. And while Weyerhauser is shedding assets, other companies in the forest products industry are trying to acquire some. The most noticeable is International Paper Co. (NYSE: IP), which has taken an already rejected offer of $3.3 billion for Temple-Inland Inc. (NYSE: TIN) directly to Temple-Inland shareholders. Rock-Tenn Co. (NYSE: RKT) recently completed its acquisition of Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. and Boise Inc. (NYSE: BZ) has also picked up another packaging firm.

In a recent report, Standard & Poor’s showed that strong balance sheets and attractive financing terms will increase M&A over the next several quarters in the forest products industry in North America.  S&P believes that all of the action will occur in the paperboard and packing sectors, but that consolidation in the wood products sector is unlikely due to the weak recovery in the housing market.

That sounds about right. Weyerhaeuser isn’t the only lumber company that’s having earnings troubles. Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LL) recently cut its forecast and the stock got pounded. Weyerhaeuser, Plum Creek Timber Co. (NYSE: PCL), and Rayonier Inc. (NYSE: RYN) are all trading below 52-week highs. Pope Resources LP (NASDAQ: POPE) has posted a share price gain of around 80% in the past twelve months, but its market cap is still only about $205 million, far smaller than any of the others.

Rayonier missed estimates yesterday and Plum Creek missed estimates earlier this week.

S&P suggests that “[a]cquisitions that result in further industry consolidation could potentially improve our business risk assessments” in the forest products sector. But with the possible exception of Pope, with its low market cap, it doesn’t appear that any large-scale deals are on tap for the lumber business.

Weyerhaeuser shares are trading up fractionally just before noon today, at $20.06, within a 52-week range of $15.06-$25.33. The Guggenheim Timber ETF (NYSE: CUT) is trading down fractionally, at $19.62, within a 52-week range of $17.26-$23.56.

Paul Ausick

Traditionally, homebuilding soaks up a lot of U.S. timber production, but the market for new houses is very soft and has been for two years or more. Timber companies have been supported primarily by exports to Asia and real estate sales. Timber producers like Pope Resources LP (NASDAQ: POPE), Rayonier Inc. (NYSE: RYN) and Plum Creek Timber Co. Inc. (NYSE: PCL) have seen share prices rise from nearly 20% to more than 80% in the past 12 months. The Guggenheim Timber ETF (NYSE: CUT) is also up more than 20% in the past 12 months. Weyerhaeuser Co. (NYSE: WY) and Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LL) have seen stock prices fall — Weyerhaeuser when it converted to a REIT in July 2010, and Lumber Liquidators last week when the company cut its forecast for 2011.

The exports to Asia aren’t leaving the docks without controversy however. In 2010, timber exports to China doubled to $270 million when total log shipments to Asia reached a 14-year high of 1.1 billion board feet from Pacific Northwest ports, up from 700 million board feet in 2009. Prices for logs have gone up for Pacific Northwest timber, but prices in the southeast U.S. are at their lowest point in 15 years.

In the logging country of Oregon and Washington, the central issue of log exports becomes jobs. When whole logs are shipped instead of milled lumber, mills close and jobs are lost. By one estimate, for every million board feet of log exports the Northwest loses 12 jobs, mostly in family-owned and operated mills. In the past two years more than 20,000 jobs have left for Asia, and as many as 26,000 could depart in 2011, when shipments to Asia could top 1.5 billion board feet. It is important to note that logs exported to Asia are cut from private land only because U.S. law forbids exporting logs cut on public lands.

Timber companies ship more logs to Asia because demand within the U.S. for milled lumber has dried up. China, Japan, and Korea operate their own mills and want to employ their own citizens to mill the lumber imports from the U.S. Demand for lumber in Asia keeps the price of U.S. logs high.

And with high export prices come higher prices for the commodity lumber contract. Timber producers in the southeast U.S. are selling to pulp and paper mills at lower prices than milled lumber, while northwest timber producers drive up the cost of lumber even though U.S. domestic demand is very weak. It’s an unusual situation, to say the least.

Lumber Liquidators has set another 52-week intra-day low today, at $18.04, down more than 3% from Friday’s close. The shares are threatening a two-year low of around $17/share. The Guggenheim Timber ETF (NYSE: CUT) is also down more than 3% to $20.54, and the 52-week range is $17.26-$23.56.

Paul Ausick

The sharp rise in commodities prices coincided with the rise in the euro for the last half of 2010 and the first four months of 2011, but what now appears to be a near-certain restructuring/default of Greek sovereign debt is chilling the appetite for risk.

But Europe isn’t the only issue. China’s battle against inflation is being waged with higher interest rates on bank loans, which in turn appears to be slowing down the country’s growth. Chinese energy import growth could be slowing down and there is some belief that some of the construction that is going on in China is really just make-work projects to keep workers employed building housing that no one either can afford or wants to buy — the Chinese version of Potemkin villages.

The odd thing about flight to the dollar is that the US economy itself remains pretty weak. If this economy is the best that the world has to offer, things might be worse than everyone fears.

Take lumber prices for example. A contract for a thousand board feet can be purchased today for less than $220, compared with more than $320 in early March. Timber companies like Weyerhaeuser Corp. (NYSE: WY), Plum Creek Timber Co., Inc. (NYSE: PCL), and Louisiana Pacific Corp. (NYSE: LPX) have been counting on demand from China to make up for slack demand in the US, but the cavalry has not arrived yet. Worse, the cavalry may never arrive, at least in the hoped-for strength due to the slower-growing Chinese economy.

US homebuilders have done nothing to support lumber prices either, as they all continue to struggle with a collapse in new housing starts. And in a reverse situation, rising cotton prices have hurt share prices at retailers like Gap Stores Inc. (NYSE: GPS) and Aeropostale, Inc. (NYSE: ARO). That maybe about to turn around though.

Cotton prices have been falling since hitting a peak near $2.10/pound in early March. Currently sitting at about $1.55/pound, falling cotton prices may help retailers in the second half of the year, but inventories of higher-priced goods remain high and a continuing drop in cotton prices is not a sure thing. The risk to retailers remains high.

Cotton growers appear to be expecting prices to remain high and are planting more acres in cotton. In one district in California’s central valley, as much as 90,000 more acres will be planted this year, although not all in cotton. There will also be more wheat, another crop that remains near 12-month highs.

Growers are betting that cotton prices stay high, even though they plan to plant more. Retailers are hoping that cotton prices fall as growers plant more. While not exactly a zero-sum game, an outcome that supports both growers and retailers could be pretty hard to come by.

Finally today, gold and silver prices have moved up only marginally, with gold trading at about $1,514/ounce in the early afternoon, and silver at $34.88/ounce. The stronger dollar is also dampening enthusiasm for the precious metals. The SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE: GLD) is up about 0.22%, to $147.71, in a 52-week range of $113.08-$153.61, and the iShares Silver Trust (NYSE: SLV) is down about -0.3%, at $34.08, in a 52-week range of $16.94-$48.35.

The mining ETFs are faring a bit worse, with the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE: GDX) down more than -1% and the Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (NYSE: GDXJ) off more than -3%. GDX is trading at $55.16, in a 52-week range of $45.88-$64.62. GDXJ is trading at $35.03, in a 52-week range of $25.10-$44.86. The Global X Silver Miners ETF (NYSE: SIL) is down about -2.5%, to $23.56, in a range of $12.90-$31.34.

Paul Ausick

Shortly after noon today, WTI crude prices were flat with yesterday’s close at around $98.21/barrel. Crude prices fell early, to $95.25/barrel, but pushed near $100/barrel before falling back again. Silver prices are down about -4%, to $34.10, after plunging to $32.30 early. Gold prices are also recovering from a dip to $1,477.60, and are now down less than -0.5% at $1,498.10.

Today’s wobbly prices are likely due to a wobbly greenback. The dollar gained strength against the euro early this morning, but has given it all back since. The dollar has gained about 3% on the euro since the beginning of the month which helps keep the prices of dollar-priced commodities in check and cools demand for safe haven investments like gold and, to some extent, silver. When there are a lot of uncertainties in the currency markets, that translates into uncertainty about commodity futures. And that’s where we are today.

The iShares Silver Trust (NYSE: SLV) is down about -3%, at $33.36, within a 52-week range of $16.73-$48.35. The SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE: GLD) is off less than -0.5%, at $145.89, within a 52-week range of $113.08-$153.61.

Copper prices are up again today, at nearly $3.97/pound after falling to around $3.85/pound. Copper fell yesterday on fears that Chinese growth was slowing and that the country’s rising inflation would cause the government to put more capital controls in place. The government did increase the reserve ratio requirement for banks by 50 basis points today, but copper’s expected fundamental supply deficit this year still helps keep the price from collapsing. The iPath DJ-UBS Copper Total Return Sub-Index ETN (NYSE: JJC) is up more than 1.5%, to $52.24, within a 52-week range of $36.60-$61.69.

Wheat prices have continued their slide today as the market continues to adjust to the projected rise in imports from Russia and other former Soviet Union countries. Wheat is down about -3%, to $7.36/bushel after coming back from a intra-day low of about $7.28. The Market Vectors Agribusiness ETF (NYSE: MOO) is down more than -1%, to $52.87, within a 52-week range of $35.62-$57.93. The PowerShares DB Agriculture Fund (NYSE: DBA) is also down, but by less than -0.5%, at $32.28, within a 52-week range of $22.85-$35.58.

Lumber prices, like wheat, are down today by about -1.5%, at $230.70/thousand board feet, its lowest point in about seven months. Weakness in lumber is directly related to weakness in new home construction, and with US housing starts in April forecast at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 549,000, the outlook for much higher lumber prices is not terribly strong.

Except in Canada, where the country’s export development commission expects Canadian export growth of 12% in 2011 and another 7% in 2012. Oil accounts for 20% of the total thru 2012, but the country is also expecting good things from its forestry industry. Canada expects forestry exports to grow by 9% in 2011 and another 13% in 2012.

The Canadians are looking south for a big part of that growth, to the US housing market, which they predict will see 700,000 new housing starts in 2011, and 1 million housing starts in 2012. That’s nearly double the April 2010 rate.

A look at the forward P/E ratios for three US lumber companies seems to back up the Canadian view. Weyerhaeuser Co. (NYSE: WY) posts a trailing P/E of 5.53, but a forward P/E of 24.23. Plum Creek Timber Co. Inc. (NYSE: PCL) has a trailing P/E of a whopping 41.46 and a forward P/E of 25.41. Even Louisiana-Pacific Corp. (NYSE: LPX), which is expected to post a full-year loss in 2011, has a forward P/E of 26.52. Maybe all that timber is going to build homes in China and rebuild homes in Japan.

It would take some sort of economic miracle for the US to support that kind of earnings growth. A forestry consultancy in Vancouver thinks it will be 2013 before US housing starts hit 1 million. Even that could be a stretch, though, given the nearly 3.5 million houses currently for sale in the US. Until that number comes down significantly, demand for new housing in the US simply won’t grow at the rates that the Canadians are expecting.

Paul Ausick

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NYSE: AMD) Raised to Buy at Stern Agee.
Automatic Data Processing Inc. (NYSE: ADP) Reiterated Buy and raised target to $54 at Argus.
Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE COF) Reiterated Sell at Argus.
Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE: LNG) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
ExxonMobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM) Maintained Neutral but raised target to $84 at Credit Suisse.
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) Maintained Outperform on Focus List with $28 target at Credit Suisse.
JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ: JBLU) Cut to Hold at Argus.
Massey Energy Co. (NYSE: MEE) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE: RAD) Maintained Underperform at Zacks Investment Research and named the Bear of the Day.
Plum Creek Timber Co. Inc. (NYSE: PCL) Cut to Sell at UBS.
Randgold Resources Ltd. (NASDAQ: GOLD) Raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE: VLO) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) Started as Buy with $23 target at Gabelli.

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JON C. OGG

Digital River Inc. (NASDAQ: DRIV) rose in after-hours trading by as much as 6% last night after it forecast 2010 earnings of at least $0.87 EPS vs. $0.77 estimates.  Shares are still up about 2.5% at $36.51 versus a 52-week range of $21.83 to $36.93.

Funtalk China Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: FTLK) is trading lower after announcing that it intends to offer about 7,000,000 ordinary shares in a public offering.  Shares are down 6.8% at $7.22 and the near-200K shares is already above an average day’s trading volume before the market is even open. Keep in mind that FunTalk postponed this offering once before due to market conditions.

Lexmark International Inc. (NYSE: LXK) is getting hit after earnings and after its CEO is retiring.  Shares are down 7.8% at $44.00 in early trading.

Plum Creek Timber Co. (NYSE: PCL) was lower last night after the timber-land giant posted $0.20 EPS rather than $0.24 EPS targets; it also lowered 2010 guidance.  Shares were down 4% last night a the stock is indicated down almost 6% now at $34.83 versus a 52-week range of $30.71 to $43.75,

Prologis (NYSE: PLD) was down 5% last night after it disclosed the sale of 80 million shares and plans to cut its quarterly dividend.  Shares are down 5.4% at $12.18 versus a 52-week range of $9.15 to $15.04.

Regions Financial Corp. (NYSE: RF) may be advertising more on TV but the earnings came up short of estimates and the stock is getting clipped.   Shares are down 9.7% at $6.35 in active pre-market trading.

SuperGen Inc. (NASDAQ: SUPG) is soaring in percentage terms this morning after beating earnings and raising 2010 guidance on strong Dacogen royalties. Shares are up 24.5% at $2.90 on nearly 100,000 shares; average volume is only 280,000 shares and the 52-week range is $1.71 to $3.80.

Tellabs, Inc. (NASDAQ: TLAB) reported earnings this morning that beat estimates but it issued a disappointing guidance for Q4 of revenues in a range of $410 to $430 million versus Thomson Reuters estimates of $441.2 million.  Shares are down 11.9% at $7.10 this morning versus a 52-week range of $5.36 to $9.45.

Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TXN) was at a two-year high going into earnings.  Despite beating estimates, there was a sell-the-news reaction as guidance was put at $0.59 to $0.67 EPS vs. $0.63 estimates.  Shares were down about 1% around $28.70 last night.

Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: VECO) was lower after lower guidance of down to $285 million versus estimates closer to $315 million.  Shares were down 6% at $37.44 in the after-hours session and the stock was down 5.5% at $37.55 on last look this morning.

United States Steel Corp. (NYSE: X) is trading lower on earnings, well on losses.  The company lost $51 million for the quarter and shares are down 5.4% at $40.00 in active trading versus a 52-week trading range of $33.25 to $70.95.

Zoran Corporation (NASDAQ: ZRAN) tanked last night after poor earnings and a significant cut to guidance.  Shares hit new 52-week lows as a result, assuming last night’s levels come close to holding.  Shares are down 21.7% at $5.92 pre-market versus a prior 52-week range of $6.81 to $12.32.

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JON C. OGG

The big buybacks we tracker were as follows, mostly from more recent to earlier in the week:  Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. (NYSE: RL), American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ: APEI), DIRECTV (NASDAQ: DTV), Eastman Chemical Co. (NYSE: EMN), Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS), WebMD Health Corp. (NASDAQ: WBMD), Atmel Corporation (NASDAQ: ATML), General Dynamics Corp. (NYSE: GD), Owens Corning (NYSE: OC), Plum Creek Timber Co. Inc. (NYSE: PCL), AutoChina International Ltd. (NASDAQ: AUTC), Discovery Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: DISCA), Focus Media Holding Limited (NASDAQ: FMCN), CommVault Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CVLT), W. R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE: WRB), WMS Industries Inc. (NYSE: WMS), and VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN).

There are some of these that were new plans.  Some were in addition to existing plans.  Some appear to have been voted on earlier and were included in earnings announcements.  We have a few of the standout plan announcements listed out below, and then we have a table showing the big plans and the total amount.

American Public Education (NASDAQ: APEI) got crushed after earnings and the amount thrown forward into a buyback may seem insignificant to a market cap north of $550 million.  It announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a program to repurchase up to $20 million worth of shares of common stock.

Polo Ralph Lauren (NYSE: RL): “The program permits the Company to repurchase $250 million of its shares of Class A Common Stock, subject to market conditions. This amount is in addition to the $319 million available at the end of the first quarter of Fiscal 2011 as part of previously authorized stock repurchase programs, bringing the Company’s total current authorizations to $569 million.”

VeriSign Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN) was included in the earnings report and the company said the Board approved it last week: “the Board of Directors approved an additional authorization for share repurchases of approximately $1.1 billion, which brings the total amount authorized and remaining under the plan to $1.5 billion.”

DIRECTV (NASDAQ: DTV) repurchased $1.72 Billion of company stock in the second quarter and its Board approved an additional $2.0 Billion stock repurchase program.

Discovery Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: DISCA) said its board of directors has approved a stock repurchase program and is authorized to purchase up to $1 billion of its common stock.

General Dynamics (NYSE: GD) authorized management to repurchase up to 10 million shares of the issued and outstanding common stock on the open market, which comes to roughly $635 million in today’s price.

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