David Fried, editor of The Buyback Letter, focuses his stock recommendations on companies undergoing share buyback and repurchase programs. Among his latest buys is a trio of financial services firms.
CIT Group (CIT)
Founded in 1908, CIT Group is a financial holding company with more than $35 billion in financing and leasing assets.
It provides financing, leasing, and advisory services principally to middle market companies in North America and equipment financing and leasing solutions to the transportation industry worldwide.
During Q1, the company completed the existing share repurchase program and returned nearly $360 million of capital to shareholders.
The board authorized an additional $200 million in share repurchases. In the last 12 months, CIT has reduced its share count by 10.92%.
The Hartford Financial Services Group (HIG)
Hartford Financial is a leader in property and casualty insurance, group benefits, and mutual funds.
Q1 operating earnings per share was $1.04, which surpassed Wall Street expectations. Net income was $1.08 per share, up 4.9% year over year.
Total revenue came in at $4.6 billion, up 0.1% year-over-year, mainly due to higher premiums earned and net investment income.
The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share payable on July 1. In the last 12 months, management has reduced shares outstanding by 5.91%.
Voya Financial (VOYA)
Voya Financial is a retirement, investment, and insurance company serving the financial needs of some 13 million individual and institutional customers in the US.
Its mission is to help Americans become financially ready for retirement. Voya had $11 billion in revenue in 2014. The company had $486 billion in total assets under management and administration as of March 31, 2015.
Spun-off from ING Group (ING), Voya recently became a public and has seen its share price jump from $19.50 in the initial public offering to the $47 range today.
In May, Voya reported Q1 profit of $185.5 million. On a per-share basis, that was net income of 77 cents. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, came to 82 cents per share.
The results topped Wall Street expectations of 75 cents. Revenue for the period was $324 million, which also topped Wall Street's expectation of $305.6 million.
In June, the company announced a $750 million share buyback. In the last 12 months, management has reduced shares outstanding by 10%.
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