Bond Insurers Still
Grim
MBIA Inc. (MBI) and Ambac Financial Group, Inc. (ABK) have
been at the center of the credit and housing crisis as insurers of sub-prime,
sub-A loans, and prime housing loans. Analysts continue to drop the earnings
estimates and the stocks themselves fall to new lows weekly.
MBIA Inc
MBIA fell
to a new 52 week low on Friday as the market continued to struggle and the bond
insurer saw its earnings estimates decreased during the most recent week.
Surprisingly the company has not slashed its dividend which is still at an
outrageous 32.6%. Dropping another 5% on Friday the stock reached $4.03 a
share, the lowest over the last year of trading.
The company
missed its last earnings estimate terribly, posting a loss of 3.01 a share
while analysts were expecting a loss of only 0.19 cents. But analysts have now
reduced the company’s expected earnings across the board down to a loss of 1.09
in the current quarter and a loss of 6.22 a share for the current year.
20% of the
shares are currently short and with no revenue or earnings in the foreseeable
future, MBIA could easily see more drops and a few short squeezes on its way
lower.
Ambac Financial
Ambac
Financial, lower in value than MBIA, doesn’t have the outrageous dividend
payment still outstanding but is in a similar situation on all other accounts.
Missing its
last earnings quarter by 359%, analyst have slashed their expectations from a
loss of 0.78 cents to a loss of 1.33 a share for the current quarter and from a
loss of 2.75 a share to a loss of 9.16 a share for the current year.
The Trade
You could
short either one of the two bond insurers or purchase a Put when there are not
additional shares available to be shorted. I would purchase a January 2009 Put
at the 2.50 Strike price for ABK and I would purchase a January 2009 Put at the
5.00 Strike price for MBI. This will allow time for the stock to fall and to
avoid a short squeeze close to an option expiration date.