Morning Commentary: Stifel preps offering; Tsakos preferreds higher; JPMorgan declines

By James McCandless

San Antonio, Feb. 21 – The preferred space opened broadly negative, though top traders were mixed, as the Wells Fargo Hybrid & Preferred Securities Financial index started lower by 0.15%.

Stifel Financial Corp. plans to price a $150 million offering of $25-par series B non-cumulative preferred stock with a dividend in the 6.375% area.

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc., BofA Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. are the joint bookrunners.

The preferreds are redeemable on or after March 15, 2024 at par. Prior to that, they are redeemable following a capital treatment event.

Leading early secondary activity, Tsakos Energy Navigation Ltd.’s 9.5% series F and 9.25% series E fixed-to-floating rate cumulative redeemable perpetual preferreds were both moving higher.

The 9.5% preferreds (NYSE: TNPPrF) were up 27 cents to $21.60 on volume of about 158,000 shares.

The 9.25% preferreds (NYSE: TNPPrE) were up 66 cents to $21.79 on volume of about 154,000 shares.

Elsewhere, in the finance space, JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s 5.75% series DD and 6% series EE non-cumulative preferred stock were on a negative path.

The series DD preferreds (NYSE: JPMPrD) slipped 2 cents to $25.34 with about 58,000 shares trading.

The series EE preferreds (NYSE: JPMPrC) dropped 8 cents to $25.92 with about 50,000 shares trading.

Sector peer People’s United Financial, Inc.’s 5.625% series A fixed-to-floating rate non-cumulative perpetual preferreds were also worse off at the start of the session.

The preferreds (Nasdaq: PBCTP) lost 5 cents early to $24.15 on volume of about 38,000 shares.

Citigroup Inc.’s 7.125% series J fixed-to-floating rate non-cumulative preferred stock edged lower.

The preferreds (NYSE: CPrJ) were down 2 cents to $27.25 with about 26,000 shares trading.

Meanwhile, real estate investment trust National Retail Properties, Inc.’s 5.2% series F cumulative redeemable preferreds weren’t performing any better.

The preferreds (NYSE: NNNPrF) were trading down 7 cents to $23.35 on volume of about 41,000 shares.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.