DVR, Cal Dive International Inc.

HIG, Hartford Financial Services Group Inc.

DrStockPick Watch List!

 

DrStockPick Watch List! for Thursday July 30, 2009

 

My Picks for Thursday July 30, 2009 are:

**************************************************************

DVR, Cal Dive International Inc.

DVR has provided manned diving services on the Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) since 1975. With recent acquisitions of certain assets from Acergy and Torch, Inc. in 2005, and Horizon Offshore in 2007, DVR has grown into one of the largest marine diving contracting company’s in the world.

DVR owns and operates the largest DSV fleet, the largest diving corps and the largest array of diving equipment in the world; as well as recently acquired conventional pipelay

...

While many of the largest banks have sought to repay federal bailout funds by repurchasing their preferred shares and warrants, some insurers are trying to raise capital through the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP), which was originally intended for traditional banks.  Insurers are trying to raise funds as the Industry’s statutory capital levels have fallen sharply in the recent quarters.   The Treasury had stated that some of the life insurers may qualify for TARP because of their Bank Holding Company status.  As of now, considering the repayments from banks, Treasury has approved six life insurers for capital infusion under TARP.   Among the other insurers, Hartford Financial Services Group Inc (HIG) is the first to receive government money. On June 24, 2009, HIG acquired Federal Trust to satisfy a key eligibility requirement for its participation in the Capital Purchase Program (CPP) and received $3.4 billion from the Treasury.

...

 TARP to Boost HIG's Capital PositionHartford Financial Services (HIG) announced that it has accepted all of the $3.4 billion approved under the Federal Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). In return, the company will issue preference shares carrying a 5% dividend, with an option to purchase as much as $510 million in company stock at $9.79 a share.Earlier, HIG announced a plan to sell up to $750 million in common stock to raise further capital. HIG has issued 1.2 million shares so far, but now plans to limit sales under the same plan.HIG is one of the largest multi-line insurance and investment companies in the U.S. As of March 31, 2009, Hartford had total assets under management of $330.2 billion, total assets of $276.2 billion, total investments of $116.3 billion and total shareholders ...