H.B. Fuller Company recently announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a new share repurchase program of up to $200 million of the Company’s outstanding common shares. “We are pleased to announce a new $200 million plan after just completing a $100 million stock buyback program at the end of last year. This new plan continues our commitment to maintaining a balanced approach to returning capital to shareholders while preserving financial flexibility to invest in acquisitions and internal growth initiatives," said Michele Volpi, president and chief executive officer. "We believe we are a good value in the marketplace today and we intend to execute on this new plan with vigor and determination to reward our long-term holders.” The stock trades for 6x cash flow.

Avis Budget Group Inc. recently announced it would buy back an additional $50 million of its common stock and also chose to not lower its 2007 guidance to the extent analysts thought it might. Christopher Agnew of Goldman Sachs said the company update is good news, because the market probably expected Avis' fourth-quarter profit to miss estimates, its earnings to weaken in 2008 and for it to face refinancing problems in 2008. The stock has a forward PE of 8.

Citrix Systems Inc., a developer of infrastructure technology used to deploy software, said last week its board approved the repurchase of up to an additional $300 million of its common stock. The business software maker also recently announced it fiscal fourth-quarter profit and sales beat Wall Street estimates. The stock has a forward PE of 16.

While buybacks are not always a positive sign, continued buybacks signal that the company truly believes its stock has value. If you are looking for a tip-off from a creditable source, continued repurchase authorizations could well serve the purpose. FactSet Research Systems has recently raised its buyback plan. FactSet has been continuously buying back its shares. In the latest authorization, its board has approved an expansion of $125 million. Earlier this month, the company completed the repurchase of shares worth $100 million, the buyback expansion approved in March 2007. FactSet said it would buy back shares using existing and future cash generated by operations. The company achieved robust growth in the fiscal first quarter ended Nov. 30. Revenue climbed 23.2% year-over-year to $134.2 million, and net income grew 23.4% to $29.4 million, or 58 cents a share. These results were achieved against the backdrop of the financial market turmoil. Despite clients becoming more cautious regarding their spending budgets, FactSet achieved an increase in subscriptions of $24.3 million during the quarter. The company's main product offering is the Portfolio Manager Workstation, which has a solid client base. Once a user gets comfortable with this proprietary system, he becomes reluctant to make a switch. Since there is a learning curve involved, switching costs discourage customers from moving away from this platform. The PMW has been instrumental in helping FactSet maintain a very high client retention rate and an organic growth rate of around 20% and to generate robust cash flows. FactSet projected revenues of between $137 million and $141 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2008. The company has been acquiring data providers to reduce its dependency on data vendors. It has also been increasing its overseas footprint. Earlier this month, Matrix Research upgraded its rating for FactSet from hold to buy. Zacks senior services sector analyst Steve Biggs reiterated a buy rating for the company, saying, "We expect the company to continue posting solid results over the next several quarters, with the potential for upside to our estimates." The continued buyback indicates that FactSet sees value in its shares. The company is likely to continue to deliver healthy results based on its high client retention, strategic acquisitions and expanding international exposure. FactSet has a healthy balance sheet and has an return on equity of 28.45%. Despite these positives, its shares are trading significantly below their 52-week high of $73.99. I believe this is the right time to invest in a company with such healthy fundamentals and bright prospects.

Teen apparel retailer American Eagle Outfitters Inc. recently announced it will buy back up to 30 million shares through 2010. The stock trades for 5x cash flow.

Investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. said last week that it will continue its share repurchase program, after its board approved the buyback of up to 100 million shares. Punk Ziegel analyst Richard Bove upgraded LEH to BUY saying “Lehman will likely recover faster than its peers due to the expected strength in mortgages.” The stock has a forward PE of 8.

Insurance company Aflac Inc. announced plans last week to buy back about 12 million shares of its common stock in the first quarter of 2008. This accelerated share repurchase will be funded with internal capital, the company said. Also, the board authorized the purchase of up to an additional 30 million shares of its common stock. Aflac Inc. also forecast 2008 profit below Wall Street expectations, after reporting 2007 fourth-quarter growth that missed estimates. However, Chairman and Chief Executive Daniel P. Amos was quoted as saying, “I believe our earnings outlook for 2008 remains very promising.” The stock has a forward PE of 13.

The Louisville, Ky-based fast food chain operator said it will buyback $1.25 billion in common stock over the next 12 months. For the year, the company repurchased 44 million shares worth a total of $1.4 billion, reducing outstanding shares by 4%. By the end of 2008, the company expects to return $2 billion to shareholders through both large buybacks and dividends. The operator of familiar fast food joints like KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and Long John Silver's, recently reported stellar results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 29, 2007. Fueled by record new-unit growth in mainland China and Yum! Restaurants International (YRI), Yum experienced worldwide same-store-sales growth of 3% and operating profit growth of 8%. A 30% jump in operating profit from China and an 18% jump at YRI offset a 3% decline in the US. A surprisingly low tax rate of 23.7% and positive currency conversions also added to YUMs profit. Yum saw fourth quarter EPS grow 5% to 44 cents a share, beating the consensus of 42 cents a share. Its revenue soared 8.2% to $3.26 billion. The quarter was highlighted by 42% jump in sales from China and 16% jump in YRI. The China Division also reported outstanding profit growth of 44%. Same-store-sales grew 17% in China, 5% in YRI, and 1% in US. Yum Chairman and CEO, David C. Novak said, “I am pleased to report that we ended our first decade as a public company in 2007 by once again demonstrating the underlying power of our global portfolio of leading restaurant brands. Fueled by strong 2007 same-store-sales growth of 3% and continued profitable international expansion, including record new-restaurant openings of 471 in mainland China and 852 in YRI, we achieved 15% EPS growth. This marks the sixth straight year of delivering on our commitment of at least 10% annual EPS growth.” In line with his commitment, the company raised full-year 2008 EPS forecasts from $1.82 to $1.85, assuring at least 10% growth. S&P analysts maintained their buy rating on the stock and set the price target at $45. They raised their 2008 EPS estimates by 5 cents to $1.95 on beliefs that the dollar will continue to decline vs. the yuan. They also note that certain food safety issues that affected 2007 results will no longer be a problem in 2008.