Preferreds trade mixed; Medley add-on launched, price talk revised; Freddie posts earnings

By Stephanie N. Rotondo

Seattle, Feb. 16 – Preferred stocks were mixed in Thursday dealings, as liquidity continued to be constrained.

However, one market source noted that volume was “marginally better” than it has been.

The Wells Fargo Hybrid and Preferred Securities index closed 8 basis points higher. The U.S. iShares Preferred Stock index declined 16 bps.

Medley LLC said it had officially launched its follow-on offering of up to $28.75 million 7.25% $25-par notes due 2024 (NYSE: MDLQ), which a trader said was “keeping us busy.”

Though the deal was expected to price Thursday evening, terms were not available as of press time.

Medley announced the deal on Monday. A trader said that the add-on’s price per share was initially talked at $25.20.

Another source said the talk was revised to $25.25 and that the deal’s base size – not including any over-allotments – would likely increase to $30 million.

“The deal seemed to be going pretty well,” the source added.

Aside from the add-on, investors were once again focused on GSE-linked preferreds, as Freddie Mac reported its fourth-quarter results.

For the fourth quarter, Freddie posted a $4.8 billion profit – $4.5 billion of which will be sent to the Treasury Department in the form of a dividend payment. The agency had reported a $2.2 billion profit the year before.

© 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.