Guess Inc. said Wednesday its board has approved a share buyback program for up to $200 million of the apparel designer and retailer's common stock. The company said repurchases may be made on the open market or in privately negotiated transactions from time to time and as market and business conditions allow. They also posted fourth-quarter profit above market estimates driven by strong sales in Europe and Asia, and backed its outlook for fiscal year 2009. The stock trades for 10x cash flow.

Omnicare Inc., which provides pharmacy services to nursing homes, said recently that its board of directors approved a buyback program for up to $100 million of its common stock. The stock trades for 8x cash flow.

Pepsi bottler The Pepsi Bottling Group Inc. on Thursday said it will buy back 25 million shares. The move brings the total number of shares authorized for repurchase to 175 million since the company began buying back shares in 1999. Since then, Pepsi Bottling has repurchased 137 million shares. The company had about 226 million shares outstanding as of Dec. 29, 2007, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Feb. 27. The stock trades for 6.5x cash flow.

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd., one of the world's largest Internet security companies, said its board approved the repurchase of up to an additional $400 million of its common stock. The share repurchase will be funded from available working capital, the company said in a statement. The stock trades for 12x cash flow.

Brookdale Senior Living Inc., an operator of assisted and independent living centers, said recently it plans to repurchase up to $150 million of its common stock. In order to help fund the buyback, the company has cut its quarterly dividend in half to 25 cents from 50 cents. Given the current share price, Brookdale said, the switch is consistent with its responsibility to create long-term shareholder value.

Bermuda-based Tyco Electronics Ltd. said recently its board of directors authorized a $500 million increase in the company's share buyback program to $1.25 billion from $750 million. The company, which split from diversified manufacturer Tyco International Inc. last year, said through the end of February it has spent $512 million of the $750 million the company originally authorized in September 2007. The company makes passive components and electronics for telecommunication systems, including underwater fiber optics and wireless electronics. The stock trades for 7.5x cash flow.

The Jacksonville-based railroad operator initiated a new $2.4 billion stock buyback program, taking its total amount available for repurchase to $3 billion. This new buyback will amount to approximately 15% of the company. The company said this should be completed by the end of 2009. The rail transportation giant also said that it expects first-quarter and full-year earnings above Wall Street's expectations, citing strong pricing and improved efficiency. The company said it expects a profit of 74 to 77 cents per share for the first quarter and $3.40 to $3.60 per share for the year. This is up from analyst estimates of $3.05 for the year. The company also noted that it foresees 18 to 21% annual growth through 2010 versus previously expected growth of 15 to 17%. Following this news, several analysts immediately upgraded the stock including Bear Stearns' Ed Wolfe and Longbow analyst Lee Klaskow. Wolfe increased his 2008 earnings estimate by 17% simply due to the increased confidence management has in its plan as well as improving conditions in the coal and metal sectors. Longbow's Klaskow added, "Clearly CSX is operating on all cylinders…We believe the company is successfully executing on its turnaround, and it appears to us management is over the hump."

The healthcare giant said it will repurchase up to $2 billion in common stock to be started once the company's existing share repurchase program is completed. Baxter has less than $700 million of remaining authorization under its previous $2 billion share repurchase program, which it authorized in March 2007, it said. "We expect to return significant value to shareholders through a disciplined approach to capital allocation and financial management," said Baxter's CFO Robert Davis in a statement about the buyback. The company is in a very strong position right now and this sentiment was recently backed up by JP Morgan analyst Michael Weinstein who reiterated his Overweight rating. He said free cash flow would be up more than 20% in 2008 and the company is on solid financial footing right now. He expects that it will increase its dividend and also look to be a player on the M&A market. Fitch Ratings also reaffirmed its outlook on Baxter, noting that "Baxter will continue to improve profitability through improved product mix, continued cost controls and new product introductions."