Shares of L Brands (LB) climbed after the retailer announced a new share repurchase program.

SHARE REPURCHASE: L Brands this morning announced that its board authorized a new $250M share repurchase program. The new plan includes $10.3M remaining under its previous share repurchase program.

RECENT ANALYST COMMENTARY: The new share buyback program follows recent analyst commentary by Bernstein analyst Jamie Merriman, who said he expects a rebound to better growth. In a note to clients last week, Merriman started L Brands with an Outperform rating and $57 price target, and said his firm's Proprietary Consumer survey suggested that the brand remains strong, with the highest brand recognition among peers and strong ratings on fashion and quality. Merriman also said he believes that as Victoria's Secret's sales trends improve there is an opportunity for re-rating. "We expect cash return to continue, supporting shareholder return with a 6% dividend yield and buybacks, which will support earnings growth," Merriman said.

WHAT'S NOTABLE: In August, L Brands reported that comparable store sales for the second quarter fell 8%, calling the results below its expectations. As a result, the retailer lowered its 2017 earnings per share view to $3.00-$3.20 from $3.10-$3.40, and said it sees third quarter earnings per share of 25-30c, below the 36c analysts expected at the time. Comps for the year are expected down low to mid-single digits, while Q3 SSS are seen flat to down low-single digits. Deutsche Bank's Paul Trussell said at the time that L Brands is entering the back half of the year in a clean inventory position, as comp compares get easier in the second half and pressure from the exit of swim and apparel last year should subside. Meanwhile, Jefferies analyst Randal Konik listed 10 reasons to sell the stock, including: Core business erosion, PINK may be coming under pressure, Victoria Secret's pricing power is waning, removal of catalog, lapping the exited categories will not be the answer to the comp weakness, Bath & Body Works at peak with difficult compares and margins starting to roll.

PRICE ACTION: In morning trading, L Brands is up about 0.3% to $40.67, off earlier highs. Year-to-date, however, shares are down over 38%.