Dividend.com: More Questions for Lehman

Lehman Brothers (LEH Quote) said it will report a loss of $3.9 billion in the third quarter, an announcement that came as the company disclosed other initiatives meant to pull it out of its downward spiral.

The quick breakdown of this announcement is that the company will cut its annual dividend, spin off its commercial real-estate holdings to shareholders and sell a majority stake in its Neuberger Berman investment-management division.

The beat goes on for Lehman Brothers, as the markets hope that this company starts to come off the front page soon. The markets hate uncertainty, and Lehman moved up its earnings release in an attempt to bring clarity to the situation. We continue to say Lehman Brothers is only for extremely nimble short-term traders and not for long- or short-term investors.

Lehman Brothers is not a recommended dividend stock at this time, holding a Dividend.com rating of 2.0 out of 5 stars.

Stewart Enterprises Reports Steady Earnings

Stewart Enterprises (STEI Quote) just reported a solid third-quarter report, in which profits grew more than 12%.

Earnings were in line with what analysts had expected, and revenue grew 2.3% to $130.4 million. The company is also still reviewing an offer it received in July from fellow funeral company Service Corp. (SCI Quote).

We like the risk/reward for the shares here, and we believe the stock could see decent upside with a potential deal. The company has a 1.10% dividend yield, based on last night's closing stock price of $9.12.

Stewart Enterprises is a "Recommended" dividend stock, holding a Dividend.com Rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars.