Preferred stock trading limited ahead of holiday; Regions ends higher; BancFirst active

By Stephanie N. Rotondo

Phoenix, Aug. 29 – It was a quiet Friday for preferred stocks, as many market players were absent due to the three-day Labor Day weekend.

“Nobody is really making markets in anything,” a trader said early in the session. He said it was typical given that it was also the last week of summer, adding that this year’s summer season was “slower than usual” in the marketplace.

“There’s just no volatility, in any product,” he said.

The Wells Fargo Hybrid and Preferred Securities index finished the session up 8 basis points.

Regions Financial Corp.’s 6.375% series B fixed-to-floating rate noncumulative perpetual preferreds (NYSE: RFPB) gained ground, moving up a nickel to $25.37.

Just over 120,000 shares changed hands, making the issue one of the day’s more actively traded securities.

The series Bs and the 6.375% series A noncumulative perpetual preferreds (NYSE: RFPA) went ex-dividend on Wednesday. Holders of the preferreds will receive 39.84 cents per share, payable Sept. 15.

BancFirst comes off highs

BancFirst Corp. issued a statement on Friday in regards to how active – and higher – its 7.2% cumulative trust preferred securities (Nasdaq: BANFP) have been in the past month.

“[The company] does not know of any reason for, or the source of, the trading activity,” the statement said.

The statement also deemed the activity as “unusual.”

One trader noted that it was “a really small issue, so it’s hard to tell” what was driving the movement.

According to the Nasdaq, the preferreds saw trading of more than 53,000 shares on the day, well more than the average 9,000 shares that typically trade. But the preferred stock lost some of its recent gains, closing down 66 cents, or 2.23%, to $28.88 on Friday.

BancFirst is an Oklahoma City-based bank.

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