RE:Thoughts???Nah, stock would crater because if they could do buybacks they would fund with cash or debt. Not being able to do so and resorting to shareholder destroying tricks like that is a sign of weakness. They would pay dearly for it with lost reputation and future access to capital markets. Investors for the dividend would bail taking down the shares with it.
Look at ATP as an example of an over leveraged utility that has been in the doldrums for years. It has executed buy backs of their debt instruments and shares as a turn around effort, but they're limping along.