Vornado buyback plan ‘doesn’t make financial sense,’ says Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler analyst Alexander Goldfarb lowered the firm’s price target on Vornado Realty Trust to $10 from $11 and keeps an Underweight rating on the shares. The company’s rationale for using cash to repurchase shares instead of paying down debt "doesn’t make financial sense," the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm believes Vornado’s focus needs to be on restoring the balance sheet first, especially if shareholders are asked to forgo two quarters of dividends while its earnings fall further from rate hikes and potential dispositions.