Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI) Board Announces Stock Buyback Plan

Key Points

• Pitney Bowes has authorized a share buyback plan totaling $400 million, allowing the company to repurchase up to 18.9% of its outstanding shares as it believes its stock is undervalued.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share, increasing from the previous $0.07, which reflects a 2.81% yield.
• Pitney Bowes' stock has seen a recent decline, trading down 1.6% to $11.38, while analysts have mixed ratings on the stock, with some raising it to "hold" and others downgrading it from "strong-buy" to "buy".

Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI - Get Free Report) declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, July 30th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $400.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to purchase up to 18.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PBI has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Pitney Bowes from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Sidoti raised shares of Pitney Bowes to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th.

Pitney Bowes Stock Performance

Shares of Pitney Bowes stock traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $11.27. 3,924,456 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,499,939. The firm has a market cap of $2.06 billion, a PE ratio of -18.78, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.60. Pitney Bowes has a 1 year low of $5.58 and a 1 year high of $13.11. The stock's fifty day moving average is $10.99 and its 200 day moving average is $9.70.

Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27. The company had revenue of $461.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $475.92 million. Pitney Bowes had a negative return on equity of 37.88% and a negative net margin of 5.60%. Pitney Bowes's revenue for the quarter was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.03 EPS. Research analysts expect that Pitney Bowes will post 1.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Pitney Bowes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 11th. This is an increase from Pitney Bowes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. Pitney Bowes's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -30.77%.

Insider Activity at Pitney Bowes

In related news, EVP Deborah Pfeiffer sold 35,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.14, for a total value of $424,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 115,405 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,401,016.70. This represents a 23.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 9.00% of the company's stock.

About Pitney Bowes

Pitney Bowes Inc, a shipping and mailing company, provides technology, logistics, and financial services to small and medium-sized businesses, large enterprises, retailers, and government clients in the United States and internationally. It operates through Global Ecommerce, Presort Services, and SendTech Solutions segments.