TD buybacks add shareholder value

Article Excerpt

TORONTO-DOMINION BANK $66 (Toronto symbol TD; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.9 billion; Market cap: $125.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.8; Dividend yield: 3.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.td.com) is Canada’s second-largest bank with assets of $1.2 trillion. The bank has agreed to repurchase up to 14.5 million of its shares from private sellers at a discount to the market price. The move is part of its plan to buy back up to 15.0 million of its common shares, or roughly 1% of the total outstanding, by March 20, 2018. Share buybacks raise earnings per share and other per-share calculations. That gives the remaining shareholders a larger stake in the bank. TD is our #1 Conservative buy for 2017. 2017…