Morning Commentary: Preferred stocks again firm as jobs number beats; TICC Capital quiet

By Stephanie N. Rotondo

Seattle, April 5 – The preferred stock market was holding on to its recent gains on Wednesday – albeit barely – as a new jobs number came in better than expected.

The Wells Fargo Hybrid and Preferred Securities index was up 1 basis point at mid-morning. The U.S. iShares Preferred Stock ETF was up 21 bps.

The ADP National Employment Report came out early in the day, showing that 263,000 jobs were added to private payrolls in March.

That was better than the 187,000 add expected by analysts.

The ADP results come ahead of the more complete nonfarm payrolls report, which is slated to be released on Friday,

Late Tuesday, TICC Capital Corp. said it had sold $57.5 million of 6.5% $25-par notes due 2024.

The deal came upsized from $50 million and in line with price talk.

In early Wednesday dealings, a trader said he saw a small piece offered at $24.70.

Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc., BB&T Capital Markets, Compass Point and William Blair & Co. ran the books.

In the secondary, Wells Fargo & Co.’s 5.5% series X class A noncumulative preferreds (NYSE: WFCPrX) were bucking the day’s positive trend, falling 4 cents to $24.73.

The issue was the most actively traded at mid-morning, even beating out GSE paper.

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