Preferred trading muted; Gladstone gets temporary ticker; Georgia Power notes flat

By Stephanie N. Rotondo

Seattle, Sept. 20 – Trading in the preferred stock market was muted on Wednesday as investors waited to see what the Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee would say following its two-day policy meeting.

As was expected, the FOMC opted to hold interest rates steady for the time being, though a rate increase in December is not off the table. Additionally, the committee said it would start winding down its $4.5 trillion balance sheet in October.

The Fed also continued to have a generally positive outlook for the economy as a whole, though the potential impact from recent hurricanes was noted. The rate of inflation – still below the target of 2% – was also discussed, though yet again, the committee remained positive that it would return to that level in the medium-term.

Given the preferred space’s limited trading, the market was flat to a touch weaker on the day.

“Treasuries barely budged and the curve was a touch flat for the day,” a market source commented.

The Wells Fargo Hybrid and Preferred Securities index was down 6 basis points. The U.S. iShares Preferred Stock ETF was off 5 bps.

Among the week’s new issues, Gladstone Capital Corp.’s $45 million of 6% series 2024 term preferred stock – a deal priced late Tuesday – was seen trading at $24.80, which one market source noted was the “offered side of the market.”

The deal came late Tuesday via Janney Montgomery Scott LLC and Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. The issue was assigned a temporary ticker on Wednesday, “GDDLP.”

Georgia Power Co.’s $270 million of 5% $25-par series 2017A junior subordinated notes due 2077 were meantime pegged at $25.10 bid, $25.15 offered.

That was about unchanged on the day.

The baby bonds priced on Monday. BofA Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, UBS Securities LLC and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC were the bookrunners.

As for other recent issues, Ellsworth Growth and Income Fund Ltd.’s $30 million of 5.25% series A cumulative preferred shares were admitted to the New York Stock Exchange for trading on Wednesday.

The ticker symbol is “ECFPrA.”

The paper closed up 6 cents at $25.06.

The deal came Sept. 13. Price talk was 5.25% to 5.375%.

Morgan Stanley was the bookrunner.

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