Centris Group, Cooper Cos. to Repurchase Stock

Two Orange County companies have joined the growing ranks of firms that have approved plans to buy back some of their shares in the wake of the stock market’s slump.

Centris Group Inc. and Cooper Cos., whose stocks are trading near their lowest prices of the past year, said Thursday their directors have approved plans to repurchase stock from time to time.

Centris, a Costa Mesa-based insurance holding company, may repurchase as much as $5 million in shares of common stock in either public or private transactions. The stock hit a 52-week low of $8.88 on Tuesday. Since then, it has rallied a bit, closing Thursday at $10.38, up $1 a share for the day.

Cooper’s directors approved the repurchase of as many as 1 million shares of common stock from time to time in the open market. Early Thursday, the stock fell to a 52-week low of $15.38 before recovering to close at $18.88, up 50 cents a share. In February, Cooper’s shares hit $51.69.

The Irvine company, which develops and markets specialty health care products and services, also said it believes earnings in the fourth quarter of 1998 and for fiscal 1999 will be in line with analysts’ expectations.

Earlier this week, Costa Mesa-based drug maker ICN Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Irvine-based specialty finance company BN Mortgage Inc. also announced plans to buy back shares of their depressed stocks. And Oakley Inc., the Foothill Ranch maker of high-performance sunglasses, said Chairman Jim Jannard plans to purchase as many as 5 million additional shares of stock.