Dividend.com: Steering Clear of Hartford

Hartford Financial Rallies on Allianz Investment, Cuts Dividend

Hartford Financial Services(HIG) announced that it will receive a $2.5 billion investment from Allianz. This investment comes on the heels of news that HIG expects to record a third-quarter loss of $8.50 to $8.80 per share, on the basis of losses in its investment portfolio.

The company also said it will slash its quarterly dividend to 32 cents per share. The firm had previously paid a dividend of 53 cents per share.

The deal's terms are similar to what we have been seeing lately, in that Allianz will purchase $750 million in preferred stock at $31 per share. Allianz will also receive warrants to purchase an additional $1.75 billion in common stock at $25.32 per share.

Hartford Financial was very fortunate to find any sort of financing with the losses that it has taken. We're surprised Allianz didn't make a play to acquire the company, instead going into the deal with a Warren Buffett-like arrangement. Because of the uncertainty surrounding the company's long-term viability, we are steering clear of HIG shares. The company's new dividend yield, based on the announced dividend cut, will be 4.67% -- on the basis of Friday's closing stock price of $27.40.

Hartford Financial Services is not recommended at this time, holding a Dividend.com rating of 3.0 out of 5 stars.

No Time for Arbitrage Plays

The potential for the breakdown of acquisition deals has increased dramatically in the last 72 hours.

With credit market trouble spreading to Europe and Asia, we are concerned that some acquisition deals may be at risk for delays, repricings or even outright cancellations. As a result, this morning we decided to remove Anheuser Busch(BUD) and Ikon Office Solutions(IKN) from our Recommended Dividend Stock List.