Citizens Financial preferreds close above par; SoCal Edison declines; AmTrust sinks

By James McCandless

San Antonio, Jan. 23 – A volatile Wednesday in overall trading yielded similar results in the preferred space.

Leading trading, Citizens Financial Group, Inc.’s new $300 million 6.35% series D fixed-to-floating rate non-cumulative perpetual preferred stock closed above par.

Elsewhere in finance, JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s recent 6% series EE non-cumulative preferred stock and its 5.75% series DD non-cumulative preferred stock were both seen improving Wednesday.

Bank of America Corp.’s 5.875% series HH non-cumulative preferreds were also rising.

Utilities name Southern California Edison, a subsidiary of Edison International, saw its 5% cumulative trust preferred securities decline.

Meanwhile, AmTrust Financial Services, Inc.’s 6.95% series F and 7.75% series E non-cumulative preferred stocks continued to fall.

Citizens above par

At the top of trading Wednesday, Citizens Financial’s 6.35% series D fixed-to-floating rate non-cumulative perpetual preferred stock closed the session above par on its first day of activity.

The preferreds, trading under the temporary symbol “CFGLL,” were spotted ending at $25.25 on volume of about 2.7 million shares.

Elsewhere in the finance space, JPMorgan’s recent 6% series EE non-cumulative preferred stock and its 5.75% series DD non-cumulative preferred stock improved by the close.

The 6% preferreds, trading under the temporary symbol “JPEEL,” were up 5 cents to close at $25.20 with about 1.4 million shares trading.

On Tuesday, the preferreds lost 5 cents.

The 5.75% preferreds (NYSE: JPMPrD) picked up 3 cents to close at $25.05 with about 332,000 shares trading.

On Tuesday, the preferreds gained 5 cents.

Bank of America’s 5.875% series HH non-cumulative preferreds were also on the rise.

The preferreds (NYSE: BACPrK) added 7 cents to close at $25.04 on volume of about 245,000 shares trading.

SoCal Edison declines

In the utilities sector, Southern California Edison’s 5% cumulative trust preferred securities declined.

The preferreds (NYSE: SCEPrL) were down 5 cents to close at $17.80 with about 632,000 shares trading.

AmTrust falls

Insurer AmTrust’s 6.95% series F and 7.75% series E non-cumulative preferred stocks fell, continuing negative movement.

The 6.95% preferreds (NYSE: AFSIPrF) were down 93 cents to close at $8.01 on volume of about 630,000 shares.

On Tuesday, the preferreds tanked $5.24.

The 7.75% preferreds (NYSE: AFSIPrE) were down $1.01 to close at $8.84 on volume of about 424,000 shares.

The company disclosed to the Securities and Exchange Commission last week that it would delist and deregister its preferred structure by the end of the month, citing outsized costs in relation to returns.

Indexes up

The Wells Fargo Hybrid & Preferred Securities Financial index was up 0.04%.

The iShares US Preferred Stock ETF was up 5 cents to $35.48.

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