Stocks to watch Monday: Dresser-Rand, insurers

Date:2011-08-30lile  Text Size:

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Among the stocks that could see active trade in Monday’s session are Dresser-Rand Group Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Pfizer Inc.

Insurers are likely to face scrutiny as the process of tallying up property damage from Hurricane Irene gets underway. Chubb Corp. , Travelers Cos.  and Allstate Corp.  are believed to be firms with heavy exposure to property loss on the East Coast. Risk-management firm Kinetic Analysis Corp. reportedly pegged losses from the weekend storm that first hit North Carolina and then roaded up the East Coast at $5 billion to $10 billion.

It’s a thin calendar for corporate earnings. Monday’s notables include Casella Waste Systems Inc. , Donaldson Co.  and Winn-Dixie Stores .

Bristol-Myers Squibb  and Pfizer  detailed Sunday the results of large-scale clinical trial to evaluate the use of their Eliquis for the prevention of stroke or systemic embolism in patients with atrial fibrillation and at least one risk factor for stroke. The main results of the Phase III trial known as Aristotle found that Eliquis, when compared against the anticoagulant warfarin, showed significant benefits. It reduced the risk of stroke or embolism by 21%, major bleeding by 31% and mortality by 11%, the companies said. Currently, Eliquis isn’t approved for the prevention of stroke or systemic embolism in patients with atrial fibrillation in any country.

Late Friday, Dresser-Rand  said its board authorized the repurchase of up to $150 million in common stock. The buybacks, equating to about 5% of Houston-based Dresser-Rand’s outstanding shares, will be conducted on an accelerated basis, with the company paying some $150 million to Goldman Sachs & Co. to repurchase common stock and receiving delivery of many of the shares on Aug. 31. Dresser-Rand also reiterated its 2011 forecast for bookings. However, Chief Financial Officer Mark Baldwin noted that “should our bids on several large projects for which we believe we have strong offerings actually materialize prior to the end of the year, we may be at the top end of, or even exceed, the guidance previously provided.”
 

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