Buffett Still Eager to Buy Stocks; Backs Bank of America (BRK.B, BAC)

Billionaire investor Warren Buffet is unfazed by the ongoing turmoil in equity market and is still keen on buying stocks. Buffett said on Friday that he is still keen to buy companies and stocks, even as his Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.B) launched a share buyback program for the first time.

In an interview with CNBC, Buffett said that the buyback will not stop Berkshire Hathaway from acquiring or spending on infrastructure for its portfolio of companies. Buffett also showed confidence in Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) even though he believes that the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank will take time to solve its problems.

During the third quarter, Buffett said that his company acquired a net $4 billion of common stock. He said that the sharp decline in the equity market in the third quarter presented opportunities to invest cheaply. Berkshire Hathaway had also invested in Bank of America during the third quarter.

However, what surprised many was Berkshire’s plans to buyback its own shares. The share buyback program was announced earlier this week. The company said that it would pay up to 10% above book value to buyback its shares. According to investors, Berkshire’s buyback program suggests that the company is probably undervalued by 30% or more.

Buffett said on Friday that the paperwork to commence the stock repurchases has been completed. On Friday, Berkshire shares fell 2.30% to $71.04. For the week, though, the stock rose 7.04%, compared with a decline of 0.44% for the S&P 500.

Buffett also said on Friday that despite the buyback program, Berkshire would still make acquisitions and would end up spending around $7 billion on plan and equipment this year for its portfolio of companies.

Commenting on Bank of America, Buffett said that it is a fabulous business, however, it has got lot of problems from the past and that CEO Brian Moynihan will need some years to fix them.

Post Written By: Ed Liston Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing in his yacht.