SoCal Edison 5.625% trust preferreds to list Tuesday, lag in Monday trading; recent deals busy

By Stephanie N. Rotondo

Portland, Ore., May 21 - Preferred stocks "bounced back strongly" on Monday, according to a trader, after volatile trading toward the end of last week.

The trader opined that more clarity on the Greek situation was helping and that last week's losses were "oversold."

Still, it was a generally lackluster day in terms of volume, sources reported.

Southern California Edison Co.'s recent new deal was getting a fair share of investor attention. But the $475 million of 5.625% perpetual cumulative trust preference securities failed to gain much traction.

SoCal deal lags

The 5.625% trust preferreds issued by SoCal Edison's SCE Trust I - a $475 million issue that priced May 10 - are expected to list on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday, traders reported. The ticker symbol is "SCEPF."

But the deal was gaining little traction in Monday trading, with traders seeing the paper trade in a range of $24.30 to $24.40.

"It was a big thing," a trader said, referring to the amount of trading the issue saw. He also speculated that the deal would eventually trade strong.

The Rosemead, Calif.-based power producer and subsidiary of Edison International Inc. said Thursday that it intended to use $75 million of proceeds from the new issue to redeem 750,000 shares of its variable-rate series A noncumulative preference stock.

The $100-par securities will be redeemed at par plus accrued dividends on June 16.

Recent deals remain busy

Among other recent issues, Prospect Capital Corp.'s 6.95% senior notes due Nov. 15, 2022 were trading around $24.80, a trader said.

The securities were issued April 26 and have yet to list on an exchange.

Meanwhile, PNC Financial Services Group Inc.'s 6.125% series P fixed-to-floating-rate noncumulative preferreds (NYSE: PNCPP) rose a dime to $24.67, and U.S. Bancorp's 6% series G fixed-to-floating-rate noncumulative perpetual preferreds (NYSE: USBPN) were also a dime higher at $25.50.

The PNC deal priced May 1, and U.S. Bancorp's preferreds came April 15. Both issues have been trading actively since issuance.

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