Morning Commentary: New issue pipeline stalls; Entergy New Orleans’ notes free, trade north of par

By Stephanie N. Rotondo

Seattle, March 16 – The primary preferred stock market took a breather midweek, with no new deals announced.

One trader said he had heard there could be a deal coming Wednesday but had not seen anything as of mid-morning.

“They will probably give it a couple of days for people to absorb [the recent supply],” he said.

Newly priced deals continued to generate a fair bit of investor interest.

From Tuesday’s dealings, Entergy New Orleans Inc.’s $110 million of 5.5% $25-par first mortgage bonds due 2066 freed up early in the day. A trader said the notes “jumped quite a bit,” trading as high as $25.35.

Huntington Bancshares Inc.’s $350 million of 6.25% series D noncumulative perpetual preferreds were meantime pegged at $24.90 bid, $24.97 offered.

That issue came Monday and freed to trade late Tuesday morning.

From last week’s business, KKR & Co. LP’s $300 million of 6.75% series A noncumulative perpetual preferred units were seen in a $24.95 to par range.

The units priced Thursday.

Also from last week, a market source said that AmTrust Financial Services Inc.’s $125 million of 7.75% series E noncumulative preferreds – a deal from March 8 – were expected to list on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday.

However, he also noted that he hadn’t seen much trading in the paper as of mid-morning.

The ticker symbol will be “AFSIPE.”

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