Methanex Corp. said recently it plans to repurchase up to 7.9 million shares, or about 10 percent of its outstanding stock. It also has approved an 11 percent increase in its quarterly dividend, to 15.5 cents from 14 cents. Chief Executive Bruce Aitken cited the dividend increase recently as he complained the market has long underestimated the company's value as a cash generator. It was the sixth hike since Methanex began paying dividends in 2002. The company has also suffered from a perception that methanol prices are bound to fall in the long term, but that has not panned out in part because energy prices make it difficult for new producers to enter the market, he said. "It's always methanol prices are great this year, but not so good next year, and terrible in the future," Aitken told the company's annual meeting in Vancouver as he dismissed the critics. Methanex is the world's largest producer of methanol, an alcohol used as a base chemical to produce a variety of products, including fuel additives. The quarterly dividend will rise to 15.5 cents a share from 14 cents, the company said, adding the increase will apply starting with the dividend payable on June 30. The stock trades for 5x cash flow.

Emerson Electric Co. recently announced a program to buy back up to 80 million shares of its stock and pay a regular dividend. The buyback program supplements a program created in 2001 to buy back 80 million shares. The company has bought back 74.4 million shares under that program. Emerson has 782 million shares outstanding. Emerson also declared a regular dividend of 30 cents, payable June 10 to shareholders of record on May 16. The electronics and power products maker said its goal is to return 50 percent to 60 percent of the cash it generates to shareholders through dividends and buybacks. The stock has a PE of 16.

RealNetworks Inc. said recently announced that its board approved a plan to buy back up to $50 million in stock. RealNetworks operates the Rhapsody online music service and provides the RealPlayer media player. The company also recently predicted second-quarter revenue slightly above analysts views and raised its outlook for the full year.

Canadian drug developer Biovail Corp. said that its board has authorized the repurchase of up to 14 million shares of common stock over the next year. Biovail had 161 million shares outstanding, as of May 8. The repurchases will be funded using existing cash, the company said. The program does not require Biovail to buy back a minimum number of shares and may be suspended or terminated at any time. Its board also has approved a quarterly cash dividend of 37.5 cents.

DaVita Inc., which runs dialysis facilities, recently announced its board authorized an increase to its current stock repurchase program to $250 million. The stock repurchase program has no expiration date. As of May 1, 2008, DaVita had about 104.7 shares outstanding. Jim Cramer also said in his May 2 Lightning Round, “It’s a buy on its kidney failure machines.”

Dril-Quip Inc., which makes offshore drilling and production equipment, said it authorized a buyback of up to $100 million of its common stock. The company also said its first-quarter earnings rose but missed Wall Street's expectations, and it issued a second-quarter earnings prediction below analysts' current forecasts. The stock has a forward PE of 16.

Kadant Inc.'s board approved $30 million to repurchase shares over the next year. Kadant Inc. is a leading supplier to the global pulp and paper industry, with a range of products and services for improving efficiency and quality in pulp and paper production, including paper machine accessories and systems for stock preparation, fluid handling, and water management. Our fluid-handling products are also used to optimize production in the steel, rubber, plastics, food, and textile industries. In addition, we produce granules from papermaking byproducts for agricultural and lawn and garden applications. Kadant is based in Westford, Massachusetts, with revenues of $366 million in 2007 and 2,000 employees in 16 countries worldwide. The stock has a forward PE of 13.

The El Segundo, Calif.- based company announced first quarter results along with its plan to increase its buyback program to $3 billion. During the quarter the company spent $160 million repurchasing shares. DirecTV did not offer an expiration date for the buyback. The digital TV provider reported impressive first quarter earnings. During the quarter, revenue jumped 17% to $4.6 billion; U.S. revenue increased 14% while Latin America revenue soared 47% to $542 million. Free cash flow nearly doubled from $262 million to $505 million. Net income was $371 million, a 10.4% increase from $336 million reported in the same period last year. Operating performance was exceptionally strong in Latin America where the company added 200,000 subscribers during the quarter. The large subscriber addition and favorable exchange rates forced operating profit up 73% to $138 million. DirecTV now owns 74% of Sky Brazil, 41% of Sky Mexico, and 100% of PanAmericana, which covers the rest of the region. President and CEO Chase Carey added, “We expect 2008 to be a year in which we take DIRECTV to a whole new level in terms of profitability and cash flow growth. We took an important step toward this goal in the first quarter as DIRECTV U.S. generated $603 million in cash flow before interest and taxes, representing a 76% increase over the prior year.” We like to see that Deutsche Bank reiterated their buy rating on the stock and increased their price target $2 to $36. The analysts from Deutsche Bank believe DTV offers a significant advantage in HD, strong growth especially in Latin America, peaking costs, positive affects form the buyback, and a stock trading inexpensively.