IberiaBank adds preferred deal to calendar; Huntington Bancshares prices; Hercules up

By Stephanie N. Rotondo

Seattle, May 3 – The preferred stock market’s primary space began to show signs of life on Tuesday as IberiaBank Corp. announced a new deal and Huntington Bancshares Inc. priced an add-on offering.

IberiaBank, a Lafayette, La.-based bank, said it was selling series C fixed-to-floating rate noncumulative perpetual preferreds. The issue was being talked around 6.625%, according to a market source.

The source said he had yet to see any markets for the new issue. However, the bank’s 6.625% series B fixed-to-floating rate noncumulative perpetual preferreds (Nasdaq: IBKCP) were initially off a dime at $25.56 in early trading. The preferreds managed to claw back a little bit, ending the session off 2 cents at $25.64.

Pricing details were not available as of press time.

Keefe Bruyette & Woods Inc. and BofA Merrill Lynch are running the books.

Meanwhile, Huntington Bancshares said it sold an additional $200 million of its 6.25% series D noncumulative perpetual preferred stock (Nasdaq: HBANO) on Tuesday.

The Columbus, Ohio-based bank announced the offering late Monday. Huntington initially sold $350 million of the preferreds on March 14. Another $50 million of a $52.5 million greenshoe was exercised, lifting total issuance to $400 million.

On word of the add-on, the preferreds declined 12 cents, to $25.90.

Wells Fargo Securities LLC ran the books on the add-on deal. BofA Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, UBS Securities LLC and the Huntington Investment Co. were joint lead managers.

Hercules greenshoe exercised

Hercules Capital Inc. said Tuesday that its underwriters had exercised $7.5 million of a $9.8 million greenshoe included in the company’s $65.4 million add-on offering done April 21.

Prior to the add-on, there was $103 million of the 6.25% $25-par notes due 2024 (NYSE: HTGX) notes outstanding. Including the add-on and the exercised over-allotment option, the total outstanding amount is $175.9 million.

The notes closed at $24.98 on Tuesday, up 7 cents.

Hercules – formerly Hercules Technology Growth Capital Inc. – is a Palo Alto, Calif.-based specialty finance company.

Freddie, Fannie slide

Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae preferreds were weaker on Tuesday after Freddie reported a loss for the first quarter.

However, Freddie said that while it was skipping this quarter’s dividend payment to the government, it also would not require any further funds from taxpayers.

“So that was a positive for them,” a trader said.

Freddie’s 8.375% fixed-to-floating rate noncumulative perpetual preferreds (OTCBB: FMCKJ) traded down 14 cents, or 3.67%, to $3.67. Fannie’s 8.25% series S fixed-to-floating rate noncumulative perpetual preferreds (OTCBB: FNMAS) fell 15 cents, or 3.85%, to $3.75.

For the quarter, Freddie reported a net loss of $354 million. That compared to a profit of $524 million the year before.

The mortgage giant attributed the swing to a loss to accounting losses of about $1.4 billion on derivatives, as well as another $600 million on interest rates on mortgages and mortgage-backed securities. The agency’s business was touted as “very solid” in a prepared statement.

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