Bank of America, Anworth set to list on NYSE; Vanguard Natural, Breitburn up as oil rises

By Stephanie N. Rotondo

Phoenix, Jan. 27 – Preferred stocks continued to trade into higher territory in Tuesday trading, despite limited liquidity as the snowstorm in New York kept some away from their desks.

“The long bond is up quite a bit. I thought we’d see some selling off,” a trader said. “But I guess not.”

The Wells Fargo Hybrid and Preferred Securities index closed 17 basis points higher on the day. It was up 12 bps at mid-morning.

Among recently priced deals, Bank of America Corp.’s $1 billion of 6.5% series Y noncumulative preferreds were slated to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday.

That deal came Jan. 20 via BofA Merrill Lynch. The ticker symbol will be “BACPY.”

The preferreds ended the day at par, up a nickel from Monday’s close.

A trader quoted that issue at $24.94 bid, $25.04 offered.

Over 1.42 million shares were exchanged, making the issue easily the most active among paying securities.

Anworth Mortgage Asset Corp.’s $7.5 million of 7.625% series C cumulative redeemable preferreds – another deal from Jan. 20 – was also expected to hit the NYSE on Wednesday.

The ticker symbol will be “ANHPC.”

A trader saw that issue quoted wide at $23.85 bid, $24.55 offered.

The preferreds finished the day at $24.50, up 15 cents.

MLV & Co. LLC and JMP Securities Inc. were the joint bookrunning managers.

Vanguard, Breitburn firm

In the secondary, Vanguard Natural Resources LLC’s preferred units were all slipping early in the session but eventually finished the day mostly better.

The 7.875% series A cumulative preferreds units (nasdaq: VNRAP) fell 24 cents to $24.60. However, both the 7.625% series B cumulative preferred units (Nasdaq: VNRBP) and the 7.75% series C cumulative preferred units (Nasdaq: VNRCP) ended higher.

The Bs rose 29 cents, or 1.36%, to $21.62, while the Cs gained 17 cents to $21.63.

On Thursday, the company announced a dividend on its common stock but indicated that the payout could be dropped as the company looks to deal with declining oil prices.

However, the company also said that it did not expect to cut its preferred distribution.

For the next monthly distribution – payable Feb. 13 – holders of the A units will get 16.41 cents per share. Holders of the Bs will receive 15.885 cents per share, and holders of the Cs will get 16.146 cents per share.

A trader opined that if the common dividend was cut, it could push the preferreds higher.

Meanwhile, Breitburn Energy Partners LP said Tuesday it was making a 17.1875-cent distribution on its 8.25% series A cumulative redeemable perpetual preferred units (Nasdaq: BBEPP) on March 16.

Breitburn’s units ended up $1.16, or 6.04%, at $20.36.

Both the oil and gas names might have also been buoyed by a gain in oil prices.

West Texas Intermediate crude gained 86 cents, or 1.9%, to end at $46.01 per barrel. Brent crude improved by $1.03, or 2.14%, to $49.19.

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