Qwest $25-par notes surge; JPMorgan active but flat; Southern California Edison gains

By James McCandless

San Antonio, Feb. 14 – The Thursday trading session led to mixed results in the preferred market.

Qwest Corp.’s 6.125% notes due 2053 and its 6.5% notes due 2056 both saw a large boost, leading secondary activity.

Elsewhere, in finance, JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s 6% series EE non-cumulative preferred stock saw high volume but ended level.

Sector peer Bank of America Corp.’s 6.625% series W non-cumulative preferred stock ended positive.

U.S. Bancorp’s series B non-cumulative perpetual preferreds dropped.

Meanwhile, Southern California Edison, a subsidiary of Edison International, saw its 5% cumulative trust preferred securities traded up.

Qwest jumps

Leading secondary trading volume, telecom name Qwest’s 6.125% notes due 2053 and its 6.5% notes due 2056 both saw large gains.

The 6.125% notes (NYSE: CTY) jumped up $1.01 to close at $23.00 on volume of about 854,000 notes.

The 6.5% notes (NYSE: CTBB) gained $1.28 to close at $22.64 on volume of about 682,000 notes.

On Wednesday, Qwest parent company CenturyLink reported a 37 cents per share profit and $5.78 billion in sales for the fourth quarter.

JPMorgan flat

Meanwhile, in the finance space, JPMorgan’s 6% series EE non-cumulative preferred stock was heavily traded but closed flat.

The preferreds (NYSE: JPMPrC) closed level at $25.93 with about 719,000 shares trading.

On Wednesday, the preferreds picked up 10 cents.

Elsewhere in finance, Bank of America’s 6.625% series W non-cumulative preferred stock ended Thursday on the positive side.

The preferreds (NYSE: BACPrW) added 9 cents to close at $25.51 on volume of about 683,000 shares.

U.S. Bancorp’s series B non-cumulative perpetual preferreds dropped.

The preferreds (NYSE: USBPrH) lost 15 cents to close at $19.31 with about 355,000 shares trading.

SoCal Edison up

In the utilities sector, Southern California Edison’s 5% cumulative trust preferred securities spent Thursday trading upward.

The preferreds (NYSE: SCEPrL) garnered 30 cents to close at $20.81 on volume of about 381,000 shares.

On Wednesday, the preferreds rose 51 cents.

Indexes mixed

The Wells Fargo Hybrid & Preferred Securities Financial index ended the session up by 0.04%, improving on a 0.10% decline in early trading.

The iShares US Preferred Stock ETF was down 3 cents to $35.96.

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