Bed Bath & Beyond approves $2 billion buyback

UNION, N.J. - Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (BBBY) said Monday that its board approved spending up to $2 billion to buy back the home goods retailer's stock.

The Union, New Jersey-based company expects the buyback to be completed in 2016. It still has about $861 million in shares to buy from another buyback program.

Buying back stock can help boost the company's share price and earnings per share. Bed Bath & Beyond shares are down about 26 percent since the beginning of the year. In April, the company posted an 11 percent drop in profit during the first three months of the year compared with the same quarter in the previous year. The company said its results were hurt by bad winter weather.

Besides its namesake stores, Bed Bath & Beyond also owns Christmas Tree Shops, BuyBuy Baby, Cost Plus World Market and others.

Its stock slipped 24 cents to $59.10 in morning trading Monday. Its shares are down almost 19 percent over the past year.