Analysts Still Covering GSEs' Shares, But...

Wall Street analysts that cover the stocks of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are expected to keep covering the companies, at least for the time being, but the two government-sponsored enterprises are facing eventual delisting from the New York Stock Exchange . One veteran Wall Street analyst put it like this: "They're still public. And we've been in this position before with them -- remember when they weren't reporting earnings? If they're on the pink sheets, we may still cover them." NYSE rules stipulate that companies whose shares close (on average) below $1 over a 30-day period receive a warning letter giving them six months to get their share price back above $1. In some cases, the exchange has given extensions on the six-month rule. Since Sunday's takeover, the two GSEs have traded and closed at under $1, but both were up in trading Wednesday. Fannie's shares stood at $1.13 at deadline time. Fannie can be found on the Web at http://www.fanniemae.com, and Freddie can be found at http://www.freddiemac.com.