Morning Commentary: Preferred stocks attempt early rebound; deals from Ashford, PS Business list

By Stephanie N. Rotondo

Seattle, Oct. 21 – The preferred stock market was attempting to inch higher early Friday after declining in the previous session.

The Wells Fargo Hybrid and Preferred Securities index was up 3 basis points at mid-morning. It fell 4 bps at Thursday’s close.

While the new issue market remained quiet, a trader said he was hearing that Wells Fargo Securities LLC was underwriting a deal for the coming week.

However, he did not have any specifics.

As for recent deals, Ashford Hospitality Trust Inc.’s $150 million of 7.375% series G cumulative preferred stock and PS Business Parks Inc.’s $165 million of 5.2% series W cumulative preferred shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, as was expected.

Ashford’s ticker is “AHTPG.” PS Business’ is “PSBPW.”

The Ashford paper was seen around $24.90 at mid-morning. PS Business was pegged around $25.01 to $25.02.

In the secondary, a trader said there was “selling pressure on reinsurers.” He said there was no real news to cause the weakness, though analysts across the board seem to think that the sector will not have a good quarter.

AmTrust Financial Services Inc.’s 6.95% series F noncumulative preferreds (NYSE: AFSIPF) were off 7 cents at $25.12 in early trades. National General Holdings Corp.’s 7.5% series C noncumulative preferreds (Nasdaq: NGHCN) were down 34 cents, or 1.32%, at $25.33.

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