Hasbro, Inc. (HAS), Zynga Inc (ZNGA), Visteon Corp (VC): These Companies Are Set To Buy Back $30 Billion in Stock

Lastly, conservative investors may want to check out RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:RNR) which has been buying back shares for seven straight years, reducing the share count by 30% in that time. The newly announced buyback plan, which could absorb up to 13% of the additional share count, is a primary focus now. But when share buybacks are no longer the focus, then robust dividend growth will likely be the norm as this company can afford to support a $4.50 a share dividend (equating to a 5% yield) while still keeping the payout ratio below 50%.

Risks to Consider: Large buybacks often signal tepid organic growth prospects, so if investors continue to gravitate toward aggressive growth stocks, these shares may underperform.

Action to Take –> Most of these stocks appear reasonable valued, with forward earnings multiples in the mid-teens. Yet steady buybacks promise to tangibly boost earnings per share in coming years, pushing these stocks deeper into value territory.

P.S. — Because buying back vast amounts of stock boosts the value of the remaining shares, it’s a strategy used by world-beating companies focused on shareholder value — companies whose stock is solid enough to buy, forget and hold “forever.” My colleague Elliott Gue and his staff recently spent six months on $1.3 million worth of research to find the best of these “Forever Stocks.” To learn more about these stocks, including some of their names and ticker symbols, click here.

– David Sterman

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