Read last weeks MQG
Post #:64452349 and ANZ
Post #:64426442 reports. If those are anything to go by then there are very good reasons for the optimism in outlook.
Secondly buybacks increase share price but that is far from artificial.
- Short term a stock trades in part based on supply and demand. A reduction in the number of outstanding shares will cause price increase due to less supply.
- Longer term the intrinsic value of the business is driven by how much it earns. Less shares moving forward increases the EPS as earnings are divided by less shares as the denominator. So even if earnings are flat (i.e. there is no reason for an upward re-rate to the business value as a whole) the earnings divided by less shares gives a larger value per share to maintain the same MC.
(20min delay)