Stock repurchase authorized

Friday, July 27, 2001 | 10:38 a.m.

Harrah's Entertainment Inc. of Las Vegas announced Thursday its board has authorized the repurchase of up to 6 million shares of its own stock.

The authorization represents roughly 5 percent of Harrah's outstanding shares. As of July 18, Harrah's had been authorized to repurchase up to 1.2 million shares of its own stock; Thursday's authorization comes in addition to that amount.

Harrah's stock has fallen about 25 percent since July 5, the day it warned investors it expected second-quarter earnings would fall below expectations. The company began aggressively buying back shares in the wake of that dip -- in its July 18 earnings release, the company said it bought 3.3 million shares in July at an average price of $29.71 per share, spending a total of $98 million.

The new share repurchase authorization expires Dec. 31, 2002.

Harrah's fell 18 cents this morning to $28.44.

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