I bought a few of the Mar 2011 2.50 puts on BBX today.

Last week, Fitch downgraded BankAtlantic's corporate debt to "CC" -- i.e., junk. From South Florida Business Journal ( http://southflorida.bi... ):

"In a news release, Fitch said BankAtlantic Bancorp has a high default probability, and it will likely require external capital support because of damaging loan losses and its “weak level” of tangible equity.

[...]

The bank faces more credit problems in its $1.4 billion residential loans and its $630 million home equity portfolio, Fitch said. Those have generally been performing better for BankAtlantic than its commercial real estate loans, the main driver behind its losses. Yet, about half of its residential loans are interest-only mortgages that are to reset in the coming years, with additional principal payments coming due.

[Fitch analyst Doriana] Gamboa said she’s worried about a lot of those residential loans made during the real estate boom that now exceed the value of the homes.

“Once they go through foreclosure, the losses would be higher than at a normal residential loan book,” she said. “Given where their equity is now, it obviously wouldn’t be enough cushion if there are significant losses in the residential and home equity book, coupled with the continuing losses in commercial real estate.”"

Enter a stock symbol to view that company's Altman Z-Score if it is a manufacturing company, or its Altman Z"-Score, if it is a non-financial, non-manufacturing company, and to view message board posts for that stock (Scores are available for premium members).

Below is a list of today's twenty-five most distressed stocks (according to their Altman Z-Score or Z''-Score, respectively) with a share price of $5 or higher. For details on how this ranking list is compiled, please click here.