Morning Commentary: Entergy New Orleans pricing first mortgage bonds; Huntington not free to trade

By Stephanie N. Rotondo

Seattle, March 15 – Entergy New Orleans Inc. kept the preferred stock market deal flow going on Tuesday, announcing an offering of $25-par first mortgage bonds due 2066.

Price talk is around 5.625%, according to a market source.

A trader saw the issue at $24.80 bid in the gray market.

“These are usually small deals,” the trader said, adding that pricing might be reworked if demand was there.

BofA Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Wells Fargo Securities LLC are the joint bookrunners. Ramirez & Co. Inc. is the co-manager.

The company plans to use the proceeds to pay down debt.

Meanwhile, recently priced deals continued to keep investors busy.

Huntington Bancshares Inc.’s $350 million of 6.25% series D noncumulative perpetual preferreds had not yet freed to trade as of mid-morning, a trader said.

He pegged the issue at $24.65 bid, $24.72 offered in early trading.

The deal came Monday via BofA Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, UBS Securities LLC and Wells Fargo.

From last week, KKR & Co. LP’s $300 million of 6.75% series A noncumulative perpetual preferred units were seen moving up, trading at $24.92.

That deal came Thursday.

Priced March 8, AmTrust Financial Services Inc.’s $125 million of 7.75% series E noncumulative preferreds were trading around “$24.95-ish,” a trader said.

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