Long Beach Financial to Buy Back Shares

Long Beach Financial Corp., which operates a mortgage company that sells mostly sub-prime loans, said Thursday that it will repurchase up to 10% of its common stock over the next two years.

The company intends to use its “strong positive cash flow” to buy up to 2.5 million shares on the open market to help boost its earnings per share and other financial ratios.

Long Beach Financial operates its sub-prime business, which provides loans to those with less than stellar credit, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Long Beach Mortgage Co.

The company’s stock closed Thursday at $12.81 a share, down 6 cents, on the Nasdaq market.