Midday Commentary: SoCal Edison paper struggles; FirstMerit announces new noncumulative offering

By Stephanie N. Rotondo

Phoenix, Jan. 28 - "Everything was softer" in the midday preferred stock arena, a trader said Monday.

He noted that "small coupon utilities" were especially weak, pointing to Southern California Edison Co.'s SCE Trust II-linked 5.1% trust preference shares, which priced on Wednesday.

The trader pegged that issue at $24.65.

Meanwhile, FirstMerit Corp. said early Monday that it would sell noncumulative perpetual preferred stock.

Price talk is around 5.875%, according to a trader.

The trader said he last saw the issue trading at $24.60.

"More might be offered there," he added. He said the deal's gray market performance thus far was "not too good," remarking that it was a "small name with a pretty tight coupon."

Among other recent noncumulative deals, First Horizon National Corp.'s 6.2% series A noncumulative perpetual preferreds - $100 million issue that came Thursday - was trading at $24.60.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.