CNO repurchases $50M in shares in second quarter

CNO Financial Group Inc., the Carmel-based insurer that counts John Paulson among its top investors, said it repurchased $50 million of its common stock in the second quarter along with $9.4 million in convertible debentures.

The insurer expects to repurchase $250 million to $300 million of securities this year, CNO said Friday in a statement. CNO said it expects to take a second-quarter charge of $5 million tied to the buybacks.

“We’ve been tactical in our approach to returning capital to shareholders,” Chief Financial Officer Frederick Crawford said on an April 25 conference call. “We retired over 26 percent of our diluted shares in the past two years through a mix of share and convertible repurchases.”

CNO gained less than 1 percent to $12.96 in New York trading Friday and has advanced 39 percent this year.