Westco Bancorp of Westchester, Ill., has received regulatory clearance to repurchase up to 103,835 shares of its common stock.
Value Enhancement Seen Likely
Westco, the holding company for First Federal Savings and Loan Association, a $294-million asset Westchester thrift, will repurchase up to 5% of the company's 2,076,750 outstanding shares during the next six months, president David C. Burba said in a prepared statement.
Mr. Burba, who called the repurchase "a good long-term investment," said that the action may enhance shareholder value because such repurchases are likely to increase both the earnings per share and book value of the remaining outstanding shares.
Westco completed its common stock offering in 1992 when it converted from a federally chartered mutual savings and loan association to a federally chartered stock savings and loan association.
It has since completed two buyback programs, in which it repurchased a total of 224,250 shares.
