Comerica prices; First Horizon offers preferreds; Brighthouse, Fortress improve; Truist flat

By Cristal Cody

Tupelo, Miss., May 20 – The preferred stock primary market continued to remain active on Wednesday with two issuers offering deals.

Comerica Inc. priced $400 million of non-cumulative perpetual fixed-rate reset preferred stock tighter than guidance following fixed income investor calls for the offering.

First Horizon National Corp. also offered $25-par perpetual non-cumulative preferred stock, along with two tranches of senior notes, on Wednesday.

Week to date, new issue volume has included Brighthouse Financial Inc.’s upsized $350 million offering of $25-par 6.75% perpetual series B non-cumulative preferred stock on Monday and Truist Financial Corp.’s upsized $500 million of 5.25% perpetual non-cumulative preferred stock that priced on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, additional issuance is expected from Fortress Biotech, Inc., which offered an add-on to its 9.375% $25-par series A perpetual preferred stock on Tuesday.

Brighthouse Financial’s $25-par depositary shares representing the series B 6.75% perpetual series B non-cumulative preferred stock were admitted for trading over the counter under the symbol “BHFBL.”

The shares headed out on Wednesday up 6 cents, or 0.24%, at 24.71 on trading volume of about 988,000 shares.

Truist Financial’s $25-par depositary shares representing its 5.25% series O perpetual non-cumulative preferred stock were admitted for over-the-counter trading under the symbol “TFCLL”.

The shares were flat at $24.92 on volume of about 6.4 million shares in late afternoon pink-slip trading.

Fortress Biotech’s 9.375% preferreds (Nasdaq: FBIOP) improved on Wednesday after softening 80 cents, or 4.12%, in the prior session. The preferreds headed out up 27 cents, or 1.48%, at $18.77 a share on trading volume of about 75,000 shares.

In other trading on Wednesday, First Horizon National’s existing 6.2% series A perpetual preferred shares (NYSE: FHN.PRA) declined 20 cents, or 0.79%, to $25.00 on trading volume of nearly 19,000 shares.

Overall, preferred stocks stayed positive over the session on Wednesday.

The Wells Fargo Hybrid and Preferred Securities index rose 0.26% on the day.

The U.S. iShares Preferred Stock ETF gained 17 cents, or 0.5%, to 34.11.

Comerica raises $400 million

Comerica priced $400 million of 5.625% non-cumulative perpetual fixed-rate reset preferred stock (Baa2/BB+/) on Wednesday, according to a market source and an FWP filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Initial talk was at 6% to 6.125%.

Comerica sold 400,000 depositary shares that each represent 1/100th of an interest in a share of the series A preferred stock at $1,000 per depositary share.

The dividend rate will reset Oct. 1, 2025 to Treasuries plus 529.1 basis points.

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, BofA Securities, Inc., Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and RBC Capital Markets LLC were the bookrunners.

The financial services company is based in Dallas.

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