"American Home Mortgage": Trading Halt...

Vor ein paar Tagen wurde erst die Dividentenzahlung ausgesetzt - nun wurden heute die Aktien von American Home Mortgage (AHM) vom Handel ausgesetzt, da eine Kurs-sensitive Pressemitteilung der Firma erwartet wird:

Out of the Gate: AHM Halted
Monday July 30, 10:28 am ET NYSE Halts Trading in AHM Shares Pending Announcement After Suspended Dividend NEW YORK (AP) -- The New York Stock Exchange halted trading in shares of American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. Monday morning pending an announcement from the struggling mortgage lender, which on Friday froze its dividend.

An NYSE spokesman said the exchange expects the Melville, N.Y.-based home lender to issue an announcement during trading hours Monday. The company's stock plunged almost 40 percent in premarket trading because of a news release issued late Friday night.

American Home Mortgage Investment said it would not pay the 70 cent per share dividend slated to be paid that day. Some of the lender's financial backers want their money back, and the company said it needs to hold on to cash in case the credit environment worsens.

American Home Mortgage Investment said the turbulent conditions in the mortgage market forced the company to mark down the value of its portfolio of home loans and loan-backed bonds.

Lehman Brothers analyst Bruce Harting downgraded American Home Mortgage Investment to "Underweight" from "Equal Weight," citing the "continued liquidity crisis that has gripped the mortgage funding markets."

Harting cut his price target to $5. The shares closed Friday at $10.47, down more than 70 percent for the year. This stock peaked above $40 in 2005.

Beginning earlier this year, many lenders reported their financial backers were pulling the plugs on their financing and demanding some money back. The home loans that act as collateral for these credit lines had lost a lot of value, and the financial backers demanded compensation.

Analysts from RBC Capital Markets and JMP Securities LLC also downgraded American Home Mortgage Investment.