Opting to spend its cash on its own stock rather than capital projects, DirecTV Group Inc. said Monday it had finished a $3 billion share repurchase program and its board approved a new $2 billion buyback.

The El Segundo satellite television provider, which started the last buyback in May, has repurchased about $8.2 billion of its shares since February 2006. The company had 1.05 billion shares outstanding as of Nov. 3, according to its most recent regulatory filings.

DirectTV last month announced a hiring freeze, and said all but the most critical capital projects would be suspended due to the poor economy. The company at of the end of its third quarter reported total assets of $17.5 billion, and cash or cash equivalents of about $3 billion. Total revenue for the nine months ended Sept. 30 was $14.4 billion.

DirecTV shares were down 57 cents, or 2.5 percent, to $21.50 in morning trading on the Nasdaq.