Innovative Income Investor | Innovative Income Investor

Headlines of Interest for Holders of Preferred Stock and Baby Bonds

Below are press releases from companies with preferred stock and baby bonds outstanding. Additionally, news of a more macro economic importance may be posted. Earnings season has essentially ended so news will be slower until we get into mid April when companys with 3/31 quarter closes begin to report.

Safe Bulkers Announces Filing of 2024 Annual Report on Form 20-F

Armada Hoffler Completes Impactful Lease With F1® Arcade at The Interlock

Great Elm Capital Corp. Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2024 Financial Results

Priority Income Fund Announces Redemption of its 6.000% Series H Term Preferred Stock Due 2026

Enstar Group Limited Announces Any And All Cash Tender Offer For Junior Subordinated Notes Due 2040

Rithm Property Trust Announces Approval of Listing of 9.875% Series C Fixed-to-Floating Rate Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock

Hercules Capital Closes Offering of $287.5 Million of Convertible Unsecured Notes

Essential Properties Realty Trust, Inc. Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.295 per Share for the First Quarter of 2025

Triton International Announces Agreement to Acquire Global Container International

LifeMD Reports Fourth Quarter 2024 Resultsarter 2024 Results

Looking Around to Buy–Kind Of

I’ve been looking around for something to buy—obviously a term preferred or baby bond with a maturity out a year or so. Certainly there is not much out there and my #1 favorite (XAI Octagon – 6.50% term preferred (XFLT-A)) doesn’t move lower and I already have maybe a 200% of normal position–have to resist going crazy.

Accounts are a tiny bit red today–just a tiny bit though as lower interest rates have helped to balance out macro downward movements. Honestly I have been somewhat surprised that we haven’t had that ‘baby out with the bath water moment’—it could come at any time-one never knows.

The 10 year yield is down sharply–off 10 basis points to 4.21%. No doubt that recession fears are taking hold. Equities just can’t get anything going–they keep trying to move higher–but sellers move right in to drive prices lower.

Well let’s see if we get a wild afternoon–or do we finally get a turn in stocks?

Weekly Kickoff

Well we are certainly in a pull back stage in equity prices with the S&P500 moving lower last week by just over 3% from the close the previous Friday. Inflation news and geopolitical events are destined to move markets in the days and weeks ahead. This week we will have more inflation news coming up this week.

The 10 year Treasury closed last week near 4.32%–near the high of the week which was 4.34% which was very substantially higher than the low of 4.11%. Obviously this is not helpful to us income investors as we saw in prices–which fell.

This week we have no real scheduled economic news on Monday. Then we have the job openings and labor turnover (JOLTs) report that MAY (not always) have market moving potential. Job openings have been trending lower and we likely will see this trend continue–this could spook markets if investors strongly read recession into the numbers. On Wednesday we have the consumer price index (CPI) and then Thursday we have producer prices (PPI). We know these can be market movers–big time!! On Friday we will see how consumers are feeling–optimistic or are they losing hope in their future–consumer sentiment will give us a hint.

The Federal reserve balance sheet moved lower by $10 billion–the runoff continues for now. While the Fed hasn’t moved interest rates lower we could see an interim step of reducing the pace of runoff if they (the Fed) start getting nervous about a slowing economy and/or if rates tic higher.

With interest rates moving substantially higher last week we saw the average $25/share preferred and baby bond move lower by 19 cents. Investment grade issues were 26 cents lower, banking issues off by 27 cents while mREIT preferreds were lower by just 11 cents and shippers moved up by 5 cents.

Employment and A Little Buy

Today we had the ‘official’ government employment report which came in acceptable–little soft to forecast and the unemployment rate rose from 4% to 4.1%. Markets have moved both ways in reaction, but now equities are down 1/3% and the 10 year treasury is off 3 basis points. Obviously the employment market is softening–and I expect this will continue.

While I didn’t intend to do any buying late this week I did go ahead and take a tiny new position of the Gladstone Lane 5% term preferred (LANDM). This issue has a mandatory redemption on 1/31/2026. My buy had to be tiny as no one wants to sell and I am not overpaying for shares–my buy was all of 105 shares which doesn’t really move the needle. I may buy some more if I can get it cheaper than $24.75 (a little over 6% yield to maturity). NOTE that I had previously owned this issue and sold for pretty good capital gains 11/2024 @ $24.98.

This buy is simply a furthering of a CD replacement. Someone mentioned it yesterday in comments so I went ahead and ‘borrowed’ their idea. I really need to do more of this using short duration term preferreds and baby bonds–it may take awhile since these issues are many times extremely illiquid. We’ll see what I can do in the weekend ahead.

Headline of Interest For Holders of Preferred Stock and Baby Bonds

Below are press releases from companies with preferred stock and baby bonds outstanding. Additionally, news of a more macro economic importance may be posted.

Earnings season has essentially ended so news will be slower until we get into mid April when earnings will start to be released for those on a 3/31/2025 quarter end.