Market ‘flat’; energy preferreds firm up as oil prices rise; Triangle greenshoe exercised

By Stephanie N. Rotondo

Phoenix, Feb. 13 – The preferred stock market ended Friday’s session “flat, essentially,” according to a market source.

The source said the space was up a couple cents for most of the day but then “faded in the last hour.”

The Wells Fargo Hybrid and Preferred Securities index closed down 5 basis points.

Another trader said early dealings were “mixed,” as another oil price rally was helping names like Vanguard Natural Resources LLC “bounce back a little bit.”

“But besides that, everything’s pretty flat,” he said.

West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.33, or 2.6%, to $52.54 a barrel, while Brent crude jumped $2.08, or 3.51%, to $61.36 – the first time the commodity has traded over $60 in months.

In response, Vanguard’s 7.625% series B cumulative redeemable preferred units (Nasdaq: VNRBP) were initially up 13 cents at $21.87 but ultimately ended unchanged at $21.74.

Regions Financial Corp.’s 6.375% series B fixed-to-floating rate noncumulative preferreds (NYSE: RFPB) – a financial institution with exposure to the oil industry – were also on the rise, ending up a penny at $25.21.

Meanwhile, Triangle Capital Corp. said it had exercised a greenshoe on its $75 million offering of 6.375% $25-par notes due 2022, increasing the size to $86.25 million.

The deal priced Feb. 4.

On the news, the notes first traded up 2 cents to $25.19 but closed steady at $25.17.

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