JPMorgan preferreds mixed; AmTrust heads higher; Southern California Edison jumps

By James McCandless

San Antonio, Jan. 30 – The preferred space, already on a positive trend Wednesday, received a boost after the Federal Reserve signaled that interest rates would not rise in the near term.

Leading secondary trading volume, JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s recent 6% series EE non-cumulative preferred stock and its 5.75% series DD non-cumulative preferred stock saw a mixed session.

Elsewhere in finance, Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.’s series D floating-rate non-cumulative preferreds gained.

Insurer AmTrust Financial Services, Inc.’s 6.95% series F non-cumulative preferreds were also positive.

Meanwhile, in utilities, Southern California Edison, a subsidiary of Edison International, saw its 5.35% cumulative fixed-to-floating rate trust preference securities close upward.

Qwest Corp.’s 6.125% notes due 2053 followed the broader market higher.

JPMorgan mixed

In a second day at the top of the secondary, JPMorgan’s recent 6% series EE non-cumulative preferred stock and its 5.75% series DD non-cumulative preferred stock ended in opposite directions in Wednesday’s session.

The 6% preferreds, trading under the temporary symbol “JPEEL,” were up 14 cents to close at $25.59 on volume of about 1 million shares.

On Tuesday, the preferreds gained 10 cents.

The 5.75% preferreds (NYSE: JPMPrD) edged down 1 cent to close at $25.02 on volume of about 550,000 shares.

Elsewhere in the finance space, Goldman Sachs’ series D floating-rate non-cumulative preferreds rose.

The preferreds (NYSE: GSPrD) picked up 6 cents to close at $19.11 with about 459,000 shares trading.

AmTrust better

Meanwhile, insurer AmTrust’s 6.95% series F non-cumulative preferreds were positive by the close.

The preferreds (NYSE: AFSIPrF) jumped 83 cents to close at $8.35 on volume of about 417,000 shares.

The company’s preferred structure is scheduled to be delisted and deregistered by Feb. 7.

SoCal Edison gains

In the utilities space, Southern California Edison’s 5.35% cumulative fixed-to-floating rate trust preference securities moved upward.

The preferreds (NYSE: SCEPrJ) rose 35 cents to close at $20.48 with about 413,000 shares trading.

Qwest jumps

Qwest’s 6.125% notes due 2053 also jumped higher.

The notes (NYSE: CTY) added 30 cents to close at $20.05 on volume of about 406,000 notes.

Indexes up

The Wells Fargo Hybrid & Preferred Securities Financial index was up 0.46% by the Wednesday close, moving higher after a 0.13% rise in early trading.

The iShares US Preferred Stock ETF was up 27 cents to $36.10.

© 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.