Despite all the talk of constriction in the credit markets, Wall Street's buyback binge continues. Last month, we examined Netflix's (Nasdaq: NFLX) "plan" to repurchase $100 million worth of its own stock, and discovered that it fell short of a commitment to buy back much of anything.
Today, we boot up our spam blocker once more, and revisit a buyback plan we described back in December as "McTentative."
Well, McAfee's (NYSE: MFE) McTentative no more. The Internet security specialist has officially authorized buying back $750 million in shares (with Netflix-like caveats that buybacks may be suspended at any time and will depend on market conditions and stock price). So with updated financials in hand, and an official buyback declaration as well, it's time to revisit our questions:
Can it pay?
Easily. It's no longer as flush as we found it in December, but McAfee still has $1.3 billion in cash and equivalents to its name against no long-term debt to speak of. The company can easily afford a $750 million layout.
Should it pay?
Er, yes. McTentatively. As you may recall, three months ago, with the shares trading 10% higher than they do today, I argued that McAfee was too expensive. But today's lower price narrows the gap between McAfee's price and its value, considerably. Selling for 16 times free cash flow, and projected to grow at 14% going forward, McAfee places second only to Motley Fool Inside Value pick Symantec (Nasdaq: SYMC) among "cheap" Internet security providers. (CA (NYSE: CA) and Microsoft are still too rich for this Fool.)
Foolish takeaway
So should McAfee go through with its buyback plans? Yes, with a caveat. Like any prudent investor, management should bide its time and buy on dips. We're close enough to a fair price today that it won't take much of a downdraft to blow these shares into deep value territory.
