Fiserv to Repurchase 5.6% of Company Stock (FISV)

Eddy Elfenbein submits: Fiserv (FISV) said that it will repurchase up to 10 million shares. Considering the size of the company ($8 billion market cap), that's huge. It works out to 5.6% of the company's stock.

What I find so interesting about Fiserv is the way the stock's P/E ratio has collapsed in recent years. It's always tricky predicting where a stock's P/E ratio ought to be, but let's look at the facts.

Fiserv's earnings multiple has been dropping like a stone, and it's lower now than it was during much of the 1990's (see below). Also, Fiserv's earnings have increased pretty consistently for the past few years.