READER INITIATED ALERTS

Below readers can post in the comments section items they believe are important to seen right away by all other readers.

For instance if we are not at our computer and a reader spots a new issue being issued they can post it below where others can come for ‘breaking news’ from other readers.

We want to keep this page ‘fresh’ so we will slick it off every 50 days so the items below remain only newer items.

We only ask that comments beyond the breaking news be kept to other pages or this page will be ‘out of control’ and not fulfilling what I hope is a handy alert page.

TO START A NEW THREAD GO TO THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE

365 thoughts on “READER INITIATED ALERTS”

    1. Must have been.. . I have it in my notes dated 4/15…. It’s certainly been an example of no meat being left on the bone for even called bonds anymore…

      Reply

      1. 2wr, thanks.

        I’m flummoxed by the search function on III: when I enter ‘GMTA’ in the search box below Tim’s twitter feed, it finds a) the detail page for the issue, b) a mention from Feb 2020, and c) my post today, but nothing else. So if it was posted back on 15 apr, either I don’t know what I’m doing (entirely possible), or the search function isn’t finding it.

        And while I’m at it, any idea how to page back to previous posts? For example, this page goes back to late April when I scroll all the way down, but there is no ‘next’ or ‘older’ link that I can find. Any idea how to do that?

        Reply

        1. Bur – hate to admit it, but I agree with you…. personally the search link/links are THE weak link on III….. I’ve never been able to make them work right for me either…. just tried today on DTJ because it seemed to me there was previous discussion on that one before today, but I didn’t succeed in proving or disproving that….. could be my fault more than III’s because I’ve never really taken much time to try to figure it out.

          Reply

  3. A question for the preferred stock experts out there. When the 2 JPM preferreds are called on June 1st, do you think their will be a lot of buying by ETFs and other funds to rebalance their portfolios? Can we expect some aggressive buying that week?

    Reply

      1. I suppose. They will get a lot of cash that day and will need to reinvest into the existing portfolio. Especially the ETF’s like good old PFF.

        Reply

        1. these 2 JPM’s are decent sized holdings for PFF. $225 million is going to need to be re-deployed somewhere else.
          Has anyone computed the fee amount for the big ETF’s?
          PFF rakes in 87 million a year in a management fee for a shitty ETF that could be run by a part time person.

          Reply

  4. Does anyone know if IPWLK is finally being called? Dropped 5.58% to par today. Pays 5.33% at current price. Next call is July. If they pay it, it is currently a buy for a quick pop.

    Reply

      1. Agreed. Time&sales reports look like someone entered a market order to sell 2600 shares.

        Reply

        1. Tom:

          Whomever the seller is, they also appeared to dump 4% IPWLP.

          Just grabbed some at $96.50 (callable at $118 but only 48,000 shares outstanding). There was a 1,000 share seller (very rare) that has now stepped away. Today’s volume of 1040 shares is the largest volume number in 2 years! My guess is Gridbird also pounced?

          Another candidate for the sock drawer.

          Reply

          1. Ha, No, not me, Rob. I will admit I saw post and paid $104 for 100 more IPWLK though. I have close to 500. Generally I buy in $103-$104, and flip at least once at quarter for $107 ish and reenter. Those who got in at $100-$101 got a gem steal, and congrats is in order. No call loss risk at that entry point of course. I dont have anything call loss risk exposed exception being IPWLK.
            People should watch LBRDP and look at it if comfortable owning and at correct entry point.. I bought 300 more yesterday around $26.85.
            Look at the chart it has about a 75 cent range. When a liquidity dump hits like late yesterday it drops 50 cents frequently. And when liquidity dries up, it creeps right back, like it is doing today.

            Reply

    1. Thanks Greg, here is the relevant section:
      Ben Nolan

      Okay, perfect. And then last and this time I mean it, for me, is you have one of those preferreds that comes due – or it doesn’t come due. It’s callable later this year. I’m curious where – and it’s trading up par, I think a 9% preferred. But I’m curious where you see that as part of your capital structure? I mean, is that something that maybe you look to refinance? Is that something that you think is more permanent capital and kind of like it there or conversely, when – if there is capital available, you would like to pull it out, any context there?

      Mark Kremin

      Sure. Yes. So we do have a redemption right at par that comes up in October of this year. So, that is a redemption right that we have and to bring that in at $25 a unit. And if we don’t exercise it, it stays, so it’s not like something that we have to do it on the day or we lose it. And I think that you’re right, we look at it as pretty expensive debt at 9%. It was great at the time, and we issued it, and it saved us from issuing common equity at prices that we found unattractive. But if I had to look in my crystal ball, I probably would prefer not to have that as a piece of our capital structure, I think that we would prefer to have the unsecured bonds, particularly in Norway, where we’ve got a pretty good following. Regular way, the mortgage debt, sale leaseback type debt and then common equity, I think the cleaner, the better. And then right now, we could probably issue in Norway under 6%. And the last deal that we did was around $575 million. And obviously, there’s been some movement in base rates since that time. But I think we could still do under 6%. So there is an arm that we can definitely pick up. And I think what you’ll see us do is continue to monitor the market. We have great relationships directly with the investors in Norway as well as with a lot of the banks that help us to issue and as we get towards the end of the summer and really into Q3 and closer to maturity, I think we’ll have to really analyze all those rates and see where we can best maximize the potential and just reduce our overall cost of capital, which is really key for us, especially as we’re looking at tendering on new vessels. We really got to make sure that we’re optimizing our balance sheet wherever possible.

      Reply

    1. TDA is reporting low 19.35, price was 35, 38, 40, now 50Bid 58ask
      Schwab has low of 35
      Not showing elsewhere.

      Reply

        1. Looks like the 500sh later on triggered it. Talk about Sheeple- huge potential losses there. Still a low bid 50.10

          Reply

  8. MDLQ, MDLY, MDLX all took a turn for the worse today. The SEC sent a “Wells Notice” to six members of Medley’s team alleging securities law violations. In addition to that, Medley withdrew their “Plan of Reorganization” they had submitted to the BK court. My assumption is that these actions are negative to the preferred prices and/or recovery projections.

    Link to SEC filing:

    https://app.quotemedia.com/data/downloadFiling?webmasterId=101533&ref=115867079&type=PDF&symbol=MDLY&companyName=Medley+Management+Inc.+Class+A&formType=8-K&dateFiled=2021-05-13&CK=1611110

    Reply

    1. This will be an interesting one to follow. Currently, Medley is tarnishing the reputation of BDC baby bonds by being the only one to ever default. However, if the default is actually the result of securities fraud, then I don’t think it really counts. You can continue to say no BDC baby bond has defaulted but with an asterisk.

      Reply

  11. New Issuer Oxford Square Capital Corp (Underlying common OXSQ)
    Senior Notes due 2028
    Exchange/Ticker:
    NASDAQ / OXSQG
    1.6 million shares ($40 Million) subject to upsize
    Egan Jones BBB
    5.5% to 5.625%

    Reply

    2. Any price talk on ACR-D? I would think in this yield starved environment ACR-C 8 5/8% F/F preferred that only floats UP not down, might end up looking attractive trading as it is at a slight premium and not callable until 2024…. Then again, C traded down to nearly 2 last March so who knows….

      Reply

  17. Dominion Energy DRUA 5.25% trading around 25.17….and guaranteed at least 1 more div of 0.33 at end of July before can be called.
    Could be burgers..could be steaks….at the very least some key lime pie.
    And if they don’t call it…..socks

    Reply

    1. I added a little more, too. Hard to decide what to do here. The company is a week late in filing the delisting notice, to the point where now I’m wondering if maybe it won’t be delisted for some reason (I have no basis for that other than the delay.) The price is nice right now, but if the delisting is still going to happen, it’s going a lot lower when PFF shows up to sell. But if the next press release says, “Oops! No delisting,” this is heading right back to par. So I’m accumulating sloooooowly.

      Reply

        1. iShares’ latest report shows 442,257 shares currently held in PFF. Given iShares will have to sell OTC now (without the benefit of a designated market maker), it could be messy. Best of luck to anyone holding.

          Reply

          2. Any best of luck to anyone buying! I’ve been waiting for this and watching PFF seemingly increase their holdings every day.

            Reply

            1. I have some extra cash now and am ready to buy at low, low prices. When you are expecting a V-shaped drop and recovery, don’t worry about short-term losses if it keeps dropping while you buy – just remind yourself where you think it will be in a couple months.

              Reply

            2. PFF is fond of end of day and end of month dumps. The market can handle the volume as it did when the delisting was announced but I would think it would knock a couple bucks off the price.

              Reply

          3. Tiger:

            Only an ETF as formulaic and dumb as PFF would be buying shares in a preferred stock (GMLPP) right before they are forced to sell the entire position because of its delisting status.

            But hoping the stupidity of the fund’s portfolio managers will eventually provide an enormously profitable buying opportunity for many on this website!

            Reply

          4. They liquidated. I jest, they sold a grand sum of 2745 shares yesterday to now hold 439,512. Though perhaps it means it is now on their radar. I have my text alerts set up for this one.

            Reply

              1. Their holding dropped from over 442,000 to 439,500 this week.
                It was 441,000 on April 30, yet only 430,000 back on March 30.

                Reply

              2. I checked their holdings directly on their site. It now shows 439,512 which is a reduction from their prior holdings of 442,257. Maybe I’m off a day from that last number, I have too many post it notes. But they definitely sold an immaterial amount. 🙂

                I forget, are you the one that has the automated tool to do the holdings comparison? I started to build that last year, but got distracted.

                Reply

                1. No, I don’t have automated tracking. I just look up Golar each morning and type the share number in my spreadsheet. You are at least a day off. They did sell a small amount of shares earlier this week, most likely due to PFF redemptions. But none yesterday.

                  Reply

    2. Weakness should only be because GMLPP just went ex dividend as well as big overall sell off.

      Reply

      1. ‘Just’ went ex ? Wasn’t ex date 5/7 (Fri) ? – record was 5 days before 5/15 = 5/10 (Mon)

        Reply

  20. I am wondering if anyone encountered the following situation that happened on DS ( formerly Newcastle) pfd. They suspended dividends last year but paid the first quarter dividend this year without making up the arrears from the previous quarters. The pfd is cumulative so presumably they can’t pay dvds on the common until the pfd is caught up but shouldn’t they credit the oldest arrears first?

    Reply

    1. Rvert, does it really matter whether they say they paid the current dividend or a previous dividend that is past due? Distinction without a difference, most likely. What’s relevant is that ALL accumulated dividends need to be paid on preferred before common can receive dividend. The dollar amount will be the same no matter which dividend the say they paid (and I haven’t actually looked to see if the company actually said that or if you are inferring it on your own).

      Reply

      1. This is the reason they paid…
        Did they hit 6? Or just 5?

        VOTING RIGHTS
        As a holder of Series B Preferred Stock, you will not have any voting
        rights, except as set forth below.
        Whenever distributions on the Series B Preferred Stock are in arrears for
        six or more quarterly periods (whether or not consecutive), the holders of
        Series B Preferred Stock will be entitled…to elect a total of two additional
        directors…

        Reply

        1. Sure, the total number of past due dividends matter, but exactly which dividends those are doesn’t matter. If they pay one dividend per quarter, then the past due number stays fixed. So if it was 5 last quarter, it stays 5 this quarter. That’s all that is relevant.

          P.S. I have often seen people claim that dividends will be paid because the company wants to avoid allowing those additional directors. While they would like to avoid it, it’s really not that big of an issue. Those directors can’t actually do much to help the preferreds out if the rest of the directors don’t want to.

          Reply

          1. They are 4 behind now, with the next payment coming up in July.
            they have also sustained losses to wipe out all shareholder equity, and have an accumulated deficit.
            So who knows whether they file bankruptcy before the October dividend, which if they don’t pay between now and then, allows the appointment of 2 new directors.
            Can anyone remember a provision like this being invoked and the preferred holders getting board seats? I think it probably has happened, but I can’t think of a case off the top of my head.

            Reply

            1. Sure, it has happened before. DTLA- is one example where 2 activist board members were added several years ago. Still no dividends paid. It is not really much of a catalyst for change.

              Reply

      1. Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. (NYSE: SHO)
        Series H Cumulative Redeemable Preferred
        4mm shares
        Guidance: 6.125% to 6.25%

        Reply

    2. New Issue: United States Cellular (USM) $25 Par 49NC5 Senior Notes
      Expected Ratings: Ba1 (Stable) /BB (Stable) /BB+(Stable)
      5.50-5.625% (Fixed-for-Life)

      Reply

  24. RC – conference call looks like the old ANH preferred stocks will be biting the dust in the near term

    Thanks. Good morning. Recent the preferred tender during the quarter, which is, of course, related to the Anworth merger, do you have any interest at tender the other preferred that you assumed with the merger?

    Tom Capasse

    Yeah. So the Series B and Series D they’re both redeemable now. I think when I look at was the dividend there that seems expensive compared to the rest of the capital stack and certainly compared to what – where we’ve seen other deals execute the market recently. So, I just expect us to look into refine those out sometime in the upcoming weeks and months.

    Reply

    1. A lot of volume in the last half hour on DTJ. Either a big seller wants out or word leaked a call may be coming. That said, you can pick up pennies or nickels depending on your entry price

      Reply

    2. I picked up another 200 shares of DTJ today at $25.30.

      Why would anyone sell below next Friday’s dividend of $0.33?

      Even if they were to call on Monday, we would get the dividend plus at least 8 days ( beyond pay date of June 1 ) with the 30 day notice.

      Reply

          1. Rvert I had a $10 steak dinner last month at a local pub. Potato and salad were great, but guess what, the steak tasted like a $10 steak, and I wont order it again.

            Reply

            1. With all the $ you are making on WTREP alone you can afford to spring for a real piece of beef!

              Reply

              1. I wish there was a way to flip and reflip WTREP, Bob, but it just aint there. Ya gotta just grind out the divis. Did you see my reply to you on HDO $2 million dollar article? I wish I could make $2 mill give underperforming picks. Its a good gig if you can get it.

                Reply

                1. I will definitely look. Just for giggles I watched the documentary on the Bernie Madoff swindle last night. The evidence it was a swindle was sitting there is plain sight for a decade. But the money being made off Madoff was so great that no one cared. Until they did.

                  Interestingly (to me anyway), one of the early theories on his remarkable investment success was that Madoff was front running! It was thought that the returns were real but that it was the front running, not the investment prowess, that was the driver.

                  I see a lot of parallels between Madoff and HDO.

                  PS – when you look at the long list (published) of Madoff victims the one that I remember most is Sandy Koufax. I used to watch that guy pitch when I was a kid. 25-5 on a team that could barely hit the ball out of the infield. As a Yankee he would have been like 29-1.

                  Reply

                  1. You have to wonder about why they went back to the well with Madoff. It was widely known he was sketchy. I mean even barrons and the WSJ had notations. A cynic might say it was all about fees and commissions. But some of it might also be the thought that ‘he must be OK after all this time and he’s been audited’ . Funny he started with pink sheets and $5,000 from working as a life guard. To one of the largest market makers on the nasdaq. He might have even been president of some part of it for a year or two (?).

                    And it wasn’t just Markopolos that was on to him. It greatly perplexes me that he wasn’t discovered by audit sooner. Though I can tell you a first hand experience of auditors admitting they didn’t know. (before computers tabulated all)

                    Reply

                    1. Here is the link if anyone wants to watch:

                      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rH1Y66IwKvc

                      One can also find video recordings of Congressional hearings involving the SEC. If you want to see someone squirm, watch the woman who was head of the SEC enforcement division who couldn’t find the swindle in spite of detailed information provided by Markopolis and others.

                      Many, many astonishing revelations. Point was made that absent the 2007/8 crash the whole Madoff scheme would probably have gone undetected until Madoff’s death. The crash saw a lot of requests to redeem, which Madoff couldn’t honor because the money didn’t exist.

                  2. Thanks I watched that. Reminds me of the old saying “We are all Equal…Just some are more Equal than others!” A lot of details came back to me. The sheer size of his scope/reach was bigger than I ever knew.

                    Arthur Levitt who is always rolled out (BV) as some great wise arbiter of truth is DIRECTLY responsible in my view. When you get a pass because you are connected. Well all the connections should have been exposed. WS was knee deep. As well as Pitt donaldson and the rest. Every enforcement director got a pass too. I just can’t fathom that. I’ve always respected the sec, I still do. This is just crazy. And it’s all been brushed away by fines and law suits. You don’t see hardly anyone held responsible?

                    Reply

                2. grid – I looked for the comment but didn’t find. Can you post link or maybe it got scrubbed?

                  I did see the the longggggggggggggg back and forth with you, samhain, your dear friend pendy and others regarding T. I cannot believe the stuff that got through the SA censors! Hain is unbelievable. Is he really a crotchety 90-year old or is the whole thing made up? The way he talks about women amazes even me. My wife and my daughters would put me in a vice if I ever said what he said. Sample of his work:

                  https://seekingalpha.com/instablog/50596004-samhain31/5529586-18-eight-girls-in-corolla-done

                  Reply

                  1. Bob, I checked, yes my post got scrubbed. It was directed to you but a 100% back door slam on Pendy and Co, so someone figured it out and got it whitewashed.
                    As far as Sam, my best guess is that it appears he is pushing 90 old and seems to be the case. One never knows though. He had a good line on Pendy a few weeks ago. He said if he wanted to kill himself he would jump from the level of Pendys ego and land where where his intelligence level is at.

                    Reply

                    1. Whoever he is Sam has a way with words that few can match.

                      SA does a disservice to investors where it comes to HDO. Nearly all of the visible comments on HDO posts are effusive in their praise. HDO are charlatans but that point of view rarely reaches readers because most of the critical comments are removed.

                      In my view, SA is enabling a great swindling of investors. It’s akin to the SEC and Madoff.

                    2. The odds that Sam is >=90 is about the same as Sam beating Usain Bolt in a 100 meter dash IMO. Seems like a 100% parody with somebody laughing their rear end off as people take the postings seriously. . .

                    3. Tex – I hear you and I sure wish I knew who he is. But I know this: “Sam” knows financial/investment theory cold. No fakery there.

                      I wonder how his comments get through the SA censors. His crit of HDO is acidic (but well deserved) and mine is kind and gentle, but I get scrubbed and he gets posted. I don’t know how.

                      One more of the mysteries of SA we may never know.

                    4. Yes, Bob, his financial posts are pretty spot on. The other stuff is irrelevant lockerroom humor, mixed in with sharp bodyblows to HDO. His blog making fun of Pendy was hilarious.

          2. Since I have lots of dry powder, I brought enough shares to be able to buy a good steak dinner or several trips to my favorite pizza restaurant.

            If it’s not called, meets my criteria

            Reply

            1. I keep looking for that riskless arbitrage, but there are darn few of them. No one took my generous offer of 25.25 on WTREP today.

              Reply

        2. I bought a 1000 more at $25.30 about 45 min before market closed on the highway. Its trading at essentially same price as call protected sister 4.378% DTB. Im like HDO an building a false narrative case to support my purchase but they didnt call 5.25% DTQ until 3 years after first call date.
          Someone past week has been liquidating and dumping today as volume though heavy all week swamped DTB today 6-1 margin. Im going bigly this week on this for many steak dinners off of volume purchases, ha. If anyone can find a 5.375% Baa3 ute issue trading in effect under par call protected or not let me know as I dont recall any presently doing that besides this one.
          They may announce a call Monday who knows, but they may just drag their feet and focus on the 6% DTY issue first come this December.

          Reply

      2. Inspy, Its easy to make a penalty free bet from a call. But Im betting by a week after exD its gonna be 25.20 minimum. I plan on extracting a full divi in a few weeks time and then peel off half.

        Reply

    3. Thank you Tex the 2nd for pointing this out. I think they need to give 30 day notice to call, so looks like not going to be on 6/1 but can be any time after (continuous)

      Bought some DTJ $25.30.

      Reply

  26. XOMAP – last trade 25.30

    XOMAO – last trade 24.26

    Wondering why the large disconnect in prices between the two?

    Reply

    2. Maybe XOMAP owners are hoping for a call this year or before 12/15/22 and could collect that extra 4% ? ( a yr earlier than can be done with XOMAO

      Does XOMAO translate as hug and kiss for Mao?

      Reply

  27. HROWL now trading. Somebody got it at 24.11. Spoiler, that wasn’t me. I paid 24.85.

    Reply

    1. Inconsistent, some sites show a bid of 25.00 but doesn’t seem to be accurate. I put in a 25.02 and. bought a little at 25.20

      Reply

    2. I tried putting in 2 orders of 50 shares at less than ask, just to see if someone would sell without showing a sale of less than the ask of 25.25
      Had to go from 25-05 to.10 to 25.15 before both were sold to me.
      They don’t register on the B/A that I can see. Probably just got lucky.

      Reply

    3. I got a partial fill on my order at $25.20 as well. It now is trading at $25.50, pretty sure the remaining shares I wanted wont get filled now.

      Reply

  31. New follow on offering: 2MM shares
    Symbol: HTIA (Healthcare Trust, Inc – a private company not to be confused with public company HTA)

    Reply

    1. Does anyone have an opinion about this issue? It’s not callable until the end of 2024 and has a 7.375% coupon. Thanks.

      Reply

        1. According to verbiage pasted below, HTI has a common stock trading $14 handle and pays a divi. Still doing DD here. When I got to the site and click investor relations, it routes me to an AR Global portal with the following asset listings paste below:

          ((What I find intriguing about this preferred is before 3/2020 was trading consistently over par. Very briefly tanked to $17/$18 at peak of chaos and has been trading in a very steady/tight range for all of 2021))

          American Finance Trust, Inc.
          Global Net Lease, Inc.
          Healthcare Trust, Inc.
          New York City REIT, Inc.

          *As previously announced, dividends authorized by HTIs board of directors on HTIs shares of Common Stock will be paid on a quarterly basis in arrears in shares of HTIs Common Stock valued at HTIs estimated per share net asset value of Common Stock in effect on the applicable date, which is currently $14.50 per share, based on a single record date to be specified at the beginning of each quarter. The number of shares to be so issued will continue to be based on a per share amount equal to $0.85 per year.

          Reply

          1. Theta:

            I am familiar with this HTIA preferred issue and have bought, owned, and flipped it during 2020.

            Their senior housing properties (43% of assets) ran into some real trouble during the pandemic. This is a private REIT with a publicly traded preferred that is under the AR Global umbrella. Their medical office properties (50% of portfolio) held up fine.

            In August of 2020, they were forced to suspend all cash dividends on their privately traded common stock, and also suspended the ability of any of their common stock holders to redeem their stock for cash at its NAV. I don’t know if this redemption suspension still exists, but they are obviously still paying their common dividends in shares instead of cash.

            Their LOC was maxxed out last Summer, so I believe the only way they can raise capital now is by issuing more shares of this expensive 7.375% HTIA preferred.

            So I would do much homework on this one before you decide to buy the preferred HTIA. I don’t own it today. Good luck.

            Reply

            1. Rob in Vegas- Appreciate the reply. Makes me want to do some major weeding in my holdings. I have been letting in some junkier selections lately. I would rather tactically carry overweight cash for the proper opportunities.

              I have to remember this mantra; an extra 200 BPS is not worth losing a large chunk or worse of your principal investment.

              Reply

    2. LONDON, May 6, 2021 /CNW/ – Atlas Corp. (ATCO) (“Atlas”) (NYSE: ATCO) today announced that it has extended the expiration of its offer to exchange (the “Exchange Offer”) up to $80,000,000 aggregate principal amount of 7.125% Notes due 2027 (the “ATCO Notes”), which have been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, for any and all outstanding $80,000,000 aggregate principal amount of 7.125% Notes due 2027 of its subsidiary, Seaspan Corporation (SSWN) (the “Seaspan Notes”). The Seaspan Notes were originally issued in October 2017. Holders of Seaspan Notes may tender some or all of their Seaspan Notes pursuant to the Exchange Offer…
      https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18305086-atlas-corp-announces-extension-of-exchange-offer-for-seaspan-corporations-80-million

      Reply

      1. I hope they arent extending the offer in hopes of me tendering my 2,000 shares. Mine could be the last shares left in stock form, I dont care, I aint tendering ATCO.

        Reply

        1. Grid – I also chose not to tender my SESCF shares, but may just sell them now that I have received the latest quarterly interest payment and the current price is above what I paid for each and every lot.

          With 62% of the outstanding baby bonds of SESCF tendered, we run the real risk of ATCO just redeeming the remaining SESCF shares at $25+ interest, especially since Seaspan just raised $300 million in new bonds at 6.5%.

          I do admire your conviction on this one!

          Reply

          1. Rob, The real reason is when it comes down to it, I dont give a rats ass if they do redeem it. I prefer trading liquidity of the issue over any extended duration protection that traps me in a bond desk fleecing situation if I ever wanted to sell. When it gets down to it, there is always something else to buy, ha.

            Reply

          2. I just picked up some yesterday on the little dip. It’s pretty much trading at PAR (effectively) so I will hang in there to see what happens.

            Reply

            1. I was reviewing literature regarding a potential call on SESCF. Came across the statement – “Upon the occurrence of specific kinds of changes of control, the holders of the Notes will have the right to cause the issuer to repurchase some or all of your Notes at 101% of their face amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest. ”

              The acquisition of Seaspan into Atlas was back in 2020. However, would this be potentially the first time that Atlas is calling a Seaspan isssue? If so, would it meet the above criteria (101%)? I am probably grasping for a straw and pragmatically, the extra 1% does not impact significantly. More of a learning exercise for me (thanks to Grid for getting me to read the literature).

              Reply

              1. Keep reading the literature it will go into exhaustive detail of what constitutes a change of control and under what conditions the put will be activated (see RC merger for an actual CoC that was triggered). Usually these trigger at the time of the merger closing

                Reply

          3. According to the press release, $50M of the $80M Seaspan notes have been tendered so far. That leaves just $25-30M left for them to call, depending on how many additional shares get tendered during the extension period. Besides calling the remaining shares of SESCF, Atlas may try to buy them back on the open market, especially if the price drops after de-listing.

            Reply

            1. Citidal, I don’t think there will be a price drop when they delist because the issue is already delisted. Has been for a while.

              Atlas has been beating the drum about how horrible it will be to own a delisted stock – but *surprise* all current shareholders ALREADY own delisted shares because the issue was delisted a long time ago.

              Keep in mind that the press release (and offer documents) are marketing materials. They are trying to sell you on something and misdirect you away from other things.

              For example, the press release is really saying that they didn’t get the $80M tendered that they wanted, so they are going to extend the offer (move the goalposts) while they try to convince more people to tender.

              Another example is the “how terrible it will be to own delisted shares” notion, while they don’t highlight that if you exchange, you will end up with shares much lower down in the capital stack, and you will have to sell them through the bond desk.

              Reply

              1. Private, the way they worded it, was good enough reason for me not to tender alone. I understood it and understand cap stack. Many got tripped up on the wording. Still for hold to maturity types or funds holding it I see a perceived value in it. But they didnt have to purposefully obfuscate their tender though.
                They obviously are wanting to lighten subsidiary debt up. Im under no illusion they will not call it. I bet they are getting some kind of cheap deal converting without onerous underwriting fees attached to it. Probably cheaper to do it this way than a call and reissue on the prestigious Nasdaq bond market.

                Reply

              2. Huh…I was really under the impression Atlas Corp had relisted SESCF back in December 2020 after they had it de-listed in anticipation of a call. For a while there, SESCF wasn’t trading at all. Either way…bought my shares at a discount and am not really interested in tendering them back.

                Reply

  32. https://waysandmeans.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/neal-and-brady-reintroduce-bipartisan-legislation-strengthen-retirement “Came accross this press release regarding possible delaying RMD to age 75” I’m sure this could benefit many readers “here” using various strategies. Last years delay was a winner, looked forward to this when I became aware its was possible. Lets all get behind this “Its bipartisan” and should fly through congress.

    Reply

    1. Can they legislate my age back to good old 70 1/2 or 72 ?
      If not, I’d settle for not having to take my RMD this year.

      Also- SA is gushing over their first mult-millionaire site- you guessed it=
      Rida’s HDO – over $2million in revenue. SA gets 25% 🙂 Little wonder they love him.
      gaaack!

      Reply

      1. HDO is the PT Barnum of SA. Who else could recommend WPG bonds weeks before they defaulted, NGL preferred before they stopped paying, and AHT before it came apart at the seams, and be rewarded for it?

        Reply

      1. What they announced was board approval to redeem the entire issue. Actual notice of redemption may have been delivered, not that I can find it. But it almost certainly will be a full redemption.

        Given the redemption terms notice would have to be in the next 10 days.

        Reply

        1. Duh, $150 million is the entire issue…
          and I have the ability to look that detail up….

          Reply

        2. I hold these in two of my Fidelity accounts and got a letter that there would be a full call on 6/15/2021, the next payment date.

          Reply

      2. Justin though that 8k filing doesn’t seem to say it’s a full call, their last 10k says in description of its long term debt “Long-term debt also includes subordinated notes payable with an aggregate principal amount of $150 million with a stated maturity of June 15, 2045 with a fixed rate of 5.95% per annum. Subject to prior approval by the Federal Reserve, the Company may redeem these notes in whole or in part on any of its quarterly interest payment dates after June 15, 2020” https://d18rn0p25nwr6d.cloudfront.net/CIK-0000750577/eecb29e4-ade0-426e-a71e-9b054469e085.html p 66

        Reply

        1. “The Company will redeem the Notes in full (the “Redemption”) on June 15, 2021 (the “Redemption Date”). The Notes will be redeemed at 100% of their principal amount, plus the accrued and unpaid interest thereon, up to but not including the Redemption Date.”

          from the same 8K …. or I’m reading it wrong or…

          Reply

    1. Bummer. There goes MNR-C. Another one bites the dust.

      Any guesses when during the 2nd half of 2021 will this close? Depending on when the transaction closes, it might be better to hang onto MNR-C and receive par plus accrued dividends instead of dumping tomorrow.

      Reply

      1. Given MNR-C’S first call is 9/15, not sooner, if people bail tomorrow I’ll be biddinG., not selling. I’m willign to bet against their ability to close in the early part of the second half. 25.61 I believe is 1.72% YTW. Too high if it was an announced call but not by much, particularly if EQC (aka Sam Zell) is considered a higher quality REIT, which should be easy to be vs MNR.

        Reply

        1. 2WR, totally in agreement. In fact, I have already entered a bid in anticipation of Nervous Nellies selling first and asking questions later.

          The minimum dividend received would be the next 2 on 6/15 and 9/15. I fully expect MNR-C to be called on 9/15, the earliest possible opportunity.

          Reply

        2. 2WR, is it possible that MNR-C could be called before 9/15/2021 because of the “change of control” provision?

          I am thinking the chance of this occurring is low, because they will have to complete the transaction before they can redeem, and I don’t think such mergers are done very quickly.

          Any comment?

          Reply

          1. Inspy – I questioned that too, but that would really come down to the whether or not this deal could be consummated by 8/15 and I don’t feel that’s very likely…

            Reply

    2. Good catch, Ralph! With the anticipated closing of this transaction to be “the second half of 2021,” my guess this is somewhat of a wash for MNR-C at current price of 25.61. There are at least 2 coupons left, 6/15 and 9/15 and that would be a minimum of .785 in dividends, probably more…. I suspect credit quality is improved under the EQC name but I’ve not looked into it yet.
      From EQC site – https://ir.eqcre.com/press-releases/news-details/2021/Equity-Commonwealth-to-Acquire-Monmouth-Real-Estate-for-3.4-Billion/default.aspx

      Reply

      1. MNR-C now 25.46 x 25.48, someone getting out, ex-div is tomorrow 5/14. Seems like a no brainer here.

        Reply

    3. Ralph:

      Not exactly “grave dancing” here by Sam Zell and his team at EQC. Paying all-time high prices for an industrial REIT with 55% of their properties leased to FedEx.

      This transaction does show you what Zell really thinks of the office market today – which is not much. Likely could have bought many office buildings on the cheap due to the pandemic and work from home trends, but it looks like he truly believes that secular changes will hit the office sector hard.

      Reply

  36. Received official notice yesterday from E*TRADE of the ALLY-A partial redemption. Actual amount of shares to be redeemed matches the previously-advertised 53.2% (truncated to a whole share, of course), so bully for that.

    Question about accrued interest to be paid for these redeemed shares:

    – Prospectus (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/40729/000119312511055156/d424b5.htm#srom156187_8) says “The redemption price will be equal to 100% of the principal amount to be redeemed plus any accrued and unpaid interest to the redemption date.”
    – Although the underlying asset for these TRUPS is a Jr Sub Debenture, I did not pay accrued interest when I bought them, so I am expecting interest calculation for the redeemed shares to act like a traditional preferred: The calculation of accrued interest would reach back to the previous dividend payment date (not to the date of purchase). Correct?

    Reply

    1. This was already discussed, wasn’t it?
      are they being redeemed on 5/15, which is a regularly scheduled interest payment?

      Reply

  37. JPM-H and JPM-G called June 1. Another example of a preferred that has been trading for a long time at unexplainable negative YTC (trading around $25.6), with buyers hoping for the best or simply ignoring the callable chance…..and with asleep holders continuing to hold it by inertia (e.g. me, well not exactly, I did have sell orders since beginning of 2021 at $25.77, none executed). Not a lot to cry about, as I did receive several quarterly distributions.

    Trading now at $24.99. Is this a good buy? Profit will be $0.01 in one month plus whatever portion of the $0.38 quarterly distribution.

    Reply

        1. wont you get the difference from the 4/30 ex date and june 1st
          so 1 months interest which would be about 12cents
          or am i missing something

          Reply

  38. New Issue
    Carlyle Finance L.L.C. (CG)
    Subordinated Notes
    Expected Ratings: BBB-/BBB- (S&P/Fitch) (*)
    Maturity: May 15, 2061
    Size: 8mm $25 par securities
    4.625% area

    Reply

    1. Without knowing the rate I would tell people to go for the note, BWSN. There is still a lot of risk in BW and I personally want higher in the cap structure than preferred nin this company.

      Also, something I have NEVER seen before: company advises in the red herring that they can’t pay dividends on the preferred under current credit agreement! Yes it’s cumulative but still no dividends assured. Almost like owning PCG preferred.

      https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001630805/000110465921060224/tm2114886d1_424b5.htm

      Reply

  41. I received notice of a dividend for PRIB-B on May 7 from Interactive Brokers. Divvy is 10 cents, which is odd, since last payment was Mar 31 . It should be 16 cents for 37 days at 6.25%.

    “PRIF PRB@NYSE (Name: PRIORITY INCOME FUND INC) announced a cash dividend with ex-dividend date of 20210505 and payable date of 20210507. The declared cash rate is USD 0.10606.”

    Reply

    1. That looks like a typo, because I calculate it out to $0.1606, but there are no press releases or SEC filings that indicate the amount of the unpaid dividends.

      Reply

  42. They plan to redeem all of PRIF-B. They’d save more by redeeming PRIF-A.
    PRIF-B is a 6.25% coupon.
    PRIF-A is a 6.375% coupon and becomes callable the June 30th.

    Reply

    1. Why not redeem PRIF-C ? Seems strange as it was callable since 2/2021 with 6.625% coupon.

      Reply

      2. The prudent thing to do is roll your nearest term maturities first. They can always roll A and C after seeing how the new issue trades. For small HY issuers, you roll maturities when you can, not when you have to.

        Reply

  43. New Issue
    Priority Income Fund, Inc
    Term Preferred due 2026
    PRIF.H
    $25 million
    Credit Rating: Egan Jones: BBB-
    Yield Talk: 6% to 6.125%
    Maturity: 5 years, due 2026

    Reply

    1. Thanks EB—I saw that–shocked they are actually moving forward so quick–see it is a ‘refi’.

      Reply

      1. They plan to redeem all of PRIF-B. They’d save more by redeeming PRIF-A.
        PRIF-B is a 6.25% coupon.
        PRIF-A is a 6.375% coupon and becomes callable the June 30th.

        Reply

  44. RC-C – Why not more than 57% of shareholders tendered is a mystery…Maybe jst one of those things where you can’t get 100% participation on anything when it comes to shareholders.. Now let’s see how long it will be before RC acts on RC-B and possibly D.
    Ready Capital Corporation Announces Preliminary Results of Tender Offer

    https://ir.readycapital.com/investor-relations/News/news-details/2021/Ready-Capital-Corporation-Announces-Preliminary-Results-of-Tender-Offer/default.aspx

    NEW YORK, May 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Ready Capital Corporation (NYSE: RC) (“Ready Capital” or the “Company”) announced today the preliminary results of its tender offer for all outstanding shares of its 6.25% Series C Cumulative Convertible Preferred Stock, $0.0001 par value per share (the “Series C Preferred Stock”), which expired at 5:00 p.m. New York City time on April 30, 2021. Based on the preliminary count by the paying agent for the tender offer, the Company expects to acquire approximately 445,320 shares of Series C Preferred Stock at a price of $25.14323 per share (which represents 100% of the $25.00 liquidation preference, plus accrued and unpaid dividends to, but not including, the purchase date) for a total cost of approximately $11.2 million. These shares represent approximately fifty-seven percent of the shares of Series C Preferred Stock outstanding.

    The number of shares of Series C Preferred Stock to be purchased is preliminary. Final results for the tender offer will be determined subject to confirmation by the paying agent of the proper delivery of the shares validly tendered and not withdrawn by May 3, 2021 and any shares tendered through notice of guaranteed delivery being timely delivered. The final number of shares to be purchased will be announced following the expiration of the guaranteed delivery period and completion by the paying agent of the confirmation process. Payment for the shares of Series C Preferred Stock accepted for purchase will occur promptly thereafter.

    Reply

    1. NEW YORK, May 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Portman Ridge Finance Corporation (PTMN) (the “Company” or “Portman Ridge”), a business development company, today announced that on April 30, 2021, it closed a private placement of $80 million in aggregate principal amount of 4.875% senior unsecured notes due 2026 (the “Notes”), which were initially assigned a BBB- rating by Egan-Jones. The net proceeds to the Company were approximately $77.7 million, after deducting payment of fees and estimated offering expenses.
      The Notes bear an interest rate of 4.875% per year, payable semiannually and will mature on April 30, 2026 and may be repaid in whole or in part, at Portman Ridge’s option, at any time or from time to time at par plus a “make-whole” premium, if applicable. The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the private placement to redeem in full its 6.125% Senior Unsecured Notes due September 2022, make investments in portfolio companies in accordance with its investment objectives, and for general corporate purposes…
      https://seekingalpha.com/pr/18297596-portman-ridge-finance-corporation-closes-private-placement-of-80-million-of-4_875-senior

      Reply

  45. Ally pfd’s called 53% of ALLY pfA outstanding. If you sold because it was neg YTC you may have to buy it back or be short against the box.

    Reply

    1. What does “be short against the box” mean? Googling doesn’t seem to clarify it.

      Reply

      2. It can be a nightmare….that is what it is!!! What it means is that if you sold 1000 shares on 4/26 or later…then you will have to have 530 in account on date of tender/call (whatever they call it). So say you sold in a IRA 4/26. On 4/28 they announce terms. You will have to have 530 in there on call date. No big deal now, seeing it’s trading right around where it was 4/26. But if it was higher, especially way higher, then you’d have to buy it back at potentially out of whack pricing.

        I’m not exactly sure what it means…….but if Short against the box you are possibly short a security. that’s unobtainable. Or priced gouged on. Or worse. And seeing that you can’t short in an IRA you get into gray areas you don’t want to deal with!!

        It happens mostly in muni land. Just remember this. If they ever tell you that trade might result you in being short against the box. DON’T to it. And if it has been done. …..Bust the trade while you can, or buy it back ASAP.

        1 old use of the term was a way of delaying selling something for holding periods. You sell a new block vs your current old holdings……

        Reply

          1. The “box” aka the existing portfolio where the shares are held that are shorted in another……..

            Reply

            1. That’s the technical meaning. It was a way to lengthen/extend a holding period for tax purposes. You have a 1000 shares that will be a long term hold 30 days from now but you want to sell now? Fine sell short now. Those shares sold now are ‘new’ shares not the original block. At that point you are long and short but net neutral. Then in 30 days use the long shares to cover the ‘short against the box’.

              But Say you have a muni. Matures 12/31/2040. Callable at par 12/31/2022 Cusip xxxxxxx5…gets pre refunded as of 5/31/2021. On 5/31/2021 the cusip will change from xxxxxxx5 to xxxxxxx-. An actual new bond cusp……You are excited the bond price goes way up because of the new short term final maturity so you sell. Well on 5/31/2021 you need to have the bond with cusp xxxxxxx5 to deliver. If you don’t have that xxxxxxx5 anymore….. because you sold it and now you have a problem. You need to deliver that cusp xxxxxxxx5….but it doesn’t exist anymore! You’re short against the box.

              With ally it’s a partial call so the security will still trade on the event date, So if you did sell you can repurchase. But I wouldn’t be surprised to see some upward price action around the date as investors scramble not to be short against the box!

              Reply

    2. I have issues with this policy because called shares are supposed to be segregated inside your portfolio with restrictions on selling them after written notice is given. What happens if the account the shares are in is prohibited from taking a short position?

      Reply

  47. Newbie question on COFPL:

    COFPL started trading on grey market today mainly in 24.60 range…question relates to narrow window trading spikes at 11:17a EST ($25.60) & at 12:09p EST ($25:00)…are these spikes due to someone using market order rather than limit order or something else I’m unfamiliar with?
    Thanks for your insight.

    Reply

    1. looks like the 25.60 was cancelled.
      there was one trade at 12:08:26 @ $25.00 for 2000 shares.

      Might have been a market order gone wild (though maybe not – price before and after was $24.60).
      Others may have more insight.

      Reply

      1. Thanks Private….the COFPL trading spikes just seemed odd, thanks for your reply!

        Also noted what looked like SCHW-J dump of 2M shares at 4p today?? Any reason other than massive quick flip profit taking??

        Reply

  48. DTJ under some pressure this week. Callable 6/1 with 30 days’ notice, but haven’t been able to find anything. Anyone seen word of a call notice?

    Reply

    1. Nothing on Edgar and nothing in their press releases.
      I am guessing people don’t want to get caught with their pants down if they issue a notice before the market opens Monday.

      Reply

    1. Wow, Disappointing, as I like having both PCI & PDI. And would not want to double my allocation to PDI. Thanks!

      Reply

  50. Received official notice yesterday from E*TRADE of the ALLY-A partial redemption. Actual amount of shares to be redeemed matches the previously-advertised 53.2% (truncated to a whole share, of course), so bully for that.

    Question about accrued interest to be paid for these redeemed shares:

    – Prospectus (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/40729/000119312511055156/d424b5.htm#srom156187_8) says “The redemption price will be equal to 100% of the principal amount to be redeemed plus any accrued and unpaid interest to the redemption date.”
    – Although the underlying asset for these TRUPS is a Jr Sub Debenture, I did not pay accrued interest when I bought them, so I am expecting interest calculation for the redeemed shares to act like a traditional preferred: The calculation of accrued interest would reach back to the previous dividend payment date (not to the date of purchase). Correct?

    Reply

    2. They missed the cutoff for calling TCBIP when they did a refunding in Feb so TCBIP is already lined up for call in June… I bet they’re leaving enough time this time around where TCBIL will be called as well in June at next div payment date.

      Reply

  52. WHLRD – Reopened Modified Dutch Auction – https://reorgdocumentlibrary.broadridge.com/Client/Client?data=0421/E24635/963025606/c
    It seems as though WHLR is playing a game of chicken with holders of WHLRD as they have reopened a tender offer between 15.50 and 18.00 per share for date for May 14. They’ve done this before in January/February and ended up having to greatly lower the dollar amount of the tender, but now they’re back for another $12 mil. WHLRD is a cumulative preferred that suspended payments in Dec ’18 and, therefore, they have probably nearly $6 of unpaid dividends to pay to date. They MUST take care of the preferreds in order to survive by 9/21/23 because on that date, the holders of the Series D Preferred may, at their option, elect to cause the Company to redeem any or all of their shares at a redemption price of $25.00 per share, plus an amount equal to all accrued and unpaid dividends, if any, to and including the redemption date, payable in cash or in shares of Common Stock, or any combination thereof, at the holder’s option. So it looks as though WHLR is attempting to take advantage of whatever weak hands might be out there so as to lessen the burden of paying accumulated dividends once they are able to….. If you believe WHLR can survive, WHLRD is a great spec… If you own but think they’re not going to make it through.. tendering is the way to go…. There has been some noted activist buying of WHLRD shares. I bot a spec amount at 17.40 with throwaway money and have no interest in tendering… every tendered share the company buys increases the likelihood of those who elect to hold to eventually get paid off in full… BTW, unpaid dividends are now accruing at 10.75% not the coupon amount of 8.75%

    Reply

    1. 2WR:

      My goodness. How did Wheeler so royally screw-up a portfolio of grocery-anchored shopping centers?

      And here I thought that AHT was the only REIT out there that played games like this. AHT originally had $564 million in preferreds outstanding that have been whittled down to $289 million as of last month.

      Monty (AHT CEO) has convinced nearly 50% of preferred holders to exchange their preferreds for near-worthless AHT common stock. Yet the AHT preferreds are all trading back near $25 today, even though they have now skipped their last four quarterly dividend payments (and counting).

      P.T. Barnum would be proud!

      Reply

      1. Rob asked: “How did Wheeler so royally screw-up a portfolio of grocery-anchored shopping centers?”

        Rob, Wheeler was a sinking ship BEFORE Covid struck. Per their description, their grocery anchored strip centers are in secondary and tertiary markets. In round numbers, they have revenues of about $1 million/year per center. Contrast that to ROIC which is top of class that takes in about $3 million/year. They never had enough total revenues to be a viable publicly traded REIT, but when you offer outsized yields on both common and preferreds, there is always a buyer. Of course, no guarantees that the payouts are long term viable. Coupled with low revenues their credit profile forced them to have a very high cost of funds, hence 8.75%/9% coupon preferreds. I don’t see them ever being able to redeem the preferreds at par short of a miracle. Maybe the Fed bails them out. . . stranger things have happened. If they were sailing fine PRE-Covid and only got in trouble last year, it might be a different story.

        Reply

        1. If you exercise the put option, they can redeem in cash OR common stock. So assuming they can avoid bankruptcy for 2.5 years (of which I have no opinion), it seems very likely that WHLRD holders will be able to collect par + accrued (plus or minus because the stock price will move around before you actually receive it). It wouldn’t really make sense for this holder put option event to be a CAUSE of bankruptcy at that point as it would convert liabilities to equity – that’s what the bankruptcy process would end up doing, but at a much higher cost.

          So I think it’s a pretty interesting speculation, but I don’t have a clue about whether they make it to September 2023. The fact that they are trying to address the preferred now is a sign that they think they can make it. My math shows par + accrued at about $38.25 at that time, so there’s a potential for 111% upside in 2.5 years. Of course, there is also the potential for 100% downside. So you would want decidedly better than 50/50 odds of survival.

          Reply

          1. Micahc, The Owl cracks me up. I would classify him in the category “he is so smart he is dumb”. A ton of math skills and not a lick of common sense. I remember his pick of the year several years back. The Frontier Communications convertible preferred. That pick of the year was the worst performing stock in all of the S&P 500 that year. How can a pick of the year be the very worst in all 500 stocks? You could be Bad Luck Schlep Rock and never be able to pick the worst stock of the year. Yet he did with his pick of the year.

            Reply

            1. CBL, RAIT, Wheeler, JC Penny! Why isn’t he pushing Enron and Lehman?

              He should be writing for HDO.

              I had a partner years ago who got rich on Class D malls. I mean the worst of the worst. He knew how to squeeze juice from lemons. I don’t like going there. Would rather look at companies that are irrationally hated or out of favor. Sometimes the hate is rational. Owl seems to have a thing for horrible companies.

              Reply

            2. I remember that Frontier preferred as if it was yesterday. That was a strong avoid from me on day 1. It never ceases to amaze me how/why Frontier paid billions for those so-called “assets” from Verizon. That strategic move would be their last. Verizon won the lotto on that one.

              Reply

  53. New Issue
    Capital One Financial Corporation (COF)
    Expected Ratings: Baa3/BB/BB+ (Moody’s/S&P/Fitch)
    Price Guidance:: 4.50%

    Reply

  54. 28 Apr 2021New York, April 28, 2021 — Moody’s Investors Service, (“Moody’s”) has assigned an A2 rating to the Series A Cumulative Preferred Shares to be issued by Aberdeen Income Credit Strategies Fund (“ACP”). The issue is callable after 5 years. As of December 31, 2020, ACP had approximately $284.7 million in assets under management and $89 million in senior leverage.RATINGS RATIONALEThe A2 rating assigned to preferred shares issued by ACP reflects the Fund’s solid risk adjusted asset coverage underpinned by moderate portfolio leverage and strong risk management controls. The rating is also supported by the Fund’s highly diversified investment portfolio by both issuer and sector exposure which serves to reduce net asset value volatility and the impact that individual security defaults will have on the portfolio as a whole. Additionally, the rating reflects the Fund’s healthy coverage of its leverage costs which is supported by ACP’s investment objective of generating a high level of income.The rating is constrained by the weak credit quality and liquidity profiles of the Fund’s underlying investments which are principally low B-rated and Caa-rated high-yield bonds. The Fund’s high concentration in deeply speculative grade rated corporate bonds exposes the investment portfolio to higher default risk than funds invested in higher rated securities. In addition, Moody’s notes that distributions to shareholders has exceeded the increase in net assets in four of the past five years.

    Reply

        1. @2wr,

          I assume that means it will be called once the transaction closes…O is my biggest equity holding, but VER-F is my biggest preferred. Mostly rhetorical question: hold the preferred until transaction closes, or sell on any near term strength? Cost basis is $25.50-ish (IRA so taxes are moot)

          Reply

          1. Graust – Though I suspect there’s no reason why another call on VER-F could take place prior to the close of the merger, my suspicion would be that the coming merger puts F in limbo between now and then and, therefore, it’s become more likely, not less, that what’s outstanding now remains outstanding until the merger’s completed.. however, that’s purely an uneducated guess… I have no stake in this game and most likely won’t be getting involved.

            Reply

          2. Does a price for the conversion get set in stone at some point, or will it float with the changing price of O. The ratio is .705 O for each VER. I guess they will probably just trade in tandem at this point? They are holding pretty neck and neck in premarket right now. I was thinking of an arb. opportunity, but seems there’s no meat on this one. Only hope I guess would be buy VER on a dip and hope price recovers before close?

            Reply

            1. This is an odd one where the arbitrage is reversed, i.e. VER is lower than it should be, and O is higher. You could certainly buy VER and short O.

              Reply

              1. No, its not reversed. The target company should always trade at a discount to the acquisition consideration due to deal/regulatory/timing risk.

                Buying VER, shorting O implies that you think those risks are less than what the market thinks. caveat emptor.

                Reply

                1. Is there typically a broker fee when shares get converted from one company to another? Reorg fee? TDA charges $38 for that little monster.

                  I’ve never shorted stocks – not even sure how. Right now VER is trading about $1 below conversion. They’re staying in pretty tight lockstep. Probably not going to try and capitalize on that due to the uncertainty of what happens to the market between now and close of deal.

                  Reply

                    1. So you’re saying a share conversion from one company (VER to O) to another is voluntary? Because the companies “volunteered” to combine?

                      And a share split is also voluntary? I got dinged $38 for a reverse split of TURN a few months ago.

                      I guess I don’t understand.

                    2. I said typically, your experience will change broker to broker regarding fees. Ver to O is mandatory

  56. GFNCP seems to be overpriced now that it is called and it went ex-div. I sold it today on the bump. If you own it, you might want to take a look at the pricing.

    Reply

    1. Weird price action on GFNCP. Was something announced or are people just guessing? I bought back in at 102.30 and sold today at 102.40 PLUS DIVIDEND. Somebody might know something I dont but I’m happy with the profit.

      Reply

      1. Martin did you ever get in on FPI-B a week or two ago at $25.70? Somebody was buying by the bushels at $26.25 yesterday, so I sent him a load. Getting closer to buying them back time already.

        Reply

        1. No I wasn’t following that one.

          Some wild action the last 2 minutes in REIT prefs. CIM-A dropped over 30 cents and I grabbed some. PMT prefs went the opposite way and others I own went haywire but too fast for me to keep up before the bell. Sometimes this market is like watching grass grow and sometimes I need a team of people to keep up.

          Reply

          1. You do a better job and have a more robust inventory to flip from. I tend to stay in a tighter circle flip list and steal a few ideas here when opportunity presents themselves. I have so much money leaning towards call anchored protection type preferreds (ala, WTREP, SESCF, RCA, etc) it is stealing from my hot flip money near term anyways.

            Reply

            1. Over 50% of my inventory is REIT prefs, that’s my specialty. I steal ideas too, probably owe you a few steak dinners.
              Callable issues above par are underrated. Lots of small profits to be had with no real downside other than call risk.

              Reply

      2. They have been bought out and will close in Q2 (this quarter). I think somewhere in the filing it said they will redeem on close. I sold all mine and then bought back last week. Got the div today and dumped it this morning. Wish I put a lot more into it last week. Did not expect it to come back this strong. Very weird action, most likely people don’t know it’s being bought out and just look and the yield.

        Reply

        1. About right, could be 4.625%. Too low for me on a buy and hold basis, but maybe good for a 50 cent flip if you can buy it at 25.

          Reply

    1. HWCPL has been callable since June 2020. If anyone is still holding it, they have been asleep at the wheel. HWCPZ was issued in May 2020 at 6.25%. I traded out of all of my HWCPL at a slight profit, and bought HWCPZ. The price has climbed nicely and it is not callable until June 2025.

      Reply

      2. I was one of those asleep. But just this morning, I noticed that Hancock Whitney announced their intent to call HWCPL on June 15th. I quickly sold all of my holdings around $25.80 which it seems was just blind luck because it’s only worth about $25.37 (par plus one dividend). I guess the word of their intentions has not spread yet .

        Anybody holding it should quickly evaluate their situation.

        Max

        Reply

        1. J
          Thanks for this.
          The 8-K is dated today but says the call was approved 4/22. It must have been a well kept secret, because HWCPL was actually up higher the last few days. Still, it baffles me how it can be around 25.80 today now that the 8-K is out.

          Reply

  60. Schwab: OTC Caveat Emptor securities will be limited to liquidation-only by May 25.
    Caveat Emptor List
    https://cs1.schwab.com/track?type=click&enid=YXVpZD0zNDc3NTk0MzQmbWFpbGluZ2lkPTE2NzAzNyZtZXNzYWdlaWQ9ODY2OCZkYXRhYmFzZWlkPTE1ODE2JnNlcmlhbD04Mzg5NDU4NyZlbWFpbGlkPU1JS0VPTElWRVJBQEdNQUlMLkNPTSZ1c2VyaWQ9Y2FtcG4wNDI2MTg5NTg1MzA3YmFjbWJrbHpnc2FhYWNxaGo4NXNjZyZ0YXJnZXRpZD0mbW49Mjk5NDgxJmZsPSZtdmlkPSZleHRyYT0mJiY=&&&caveatemptor&&&http://schwab.com/caveatemptor

    Reply

  61. GMLPP. I know a bit of the background. I will not buy. This is a Fortress company. Wes Edens. Taking advantage of debt market, he borrowed to pay dividends for New Fortress. As long as natural gas is doing OK, this will be OK. But the moment it is not Wes has a history of suspending dividends for his preferred. One can look at his mReits, Drive Shack, or any Fortress. As this will be delisted I would not trust Wes to place preferred shareholders as a priority. Just my humble opinion for consideration.

    Reply

    1. Sold half of what I bought yesterday for a quick profit. Possible buyback if another drop. Rinse. Repeat. I hope to be gone before natural gas drops.

      Reply

  62. New Issue
    Regions Financial Corporation (RF)
    Expected Ratings: Ba1 / BB+ / BB *
    4.625% Area

    Reply

    2. @ 25.50 it looks like mkt is betting RF-A won’t be called in whole OR that they cannot get a call done by 6/15. Callable on distribution payment dates only with 30 days notice. That’s still a negative yield to first call

      Reply

    1. Had dipped to $24.90 low last week.

      Bought some 24.96 as I think decent risk / reward with all better rated stuff trading way higher (and sold some to take profits, so much of that needs to re-deploy)

      Reply

      1. Is anyone able to buy it without the ‘pink sheet” charge that TDA and Eturd charges?

        Reply

  66. NEW ISSUE
    LUMENT FINANCE TRUST INC (NYSE/LFT)
    Series A Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock
    $40,000,000 (1.6mm $25 par shares)
    BBB (Egan-Jones)
    8% area

    Reply

    1. Wow- checkered past- OAKS>HCFT>LFT. $95mm cap- small REIT.
      Might still have some CLOs (?) Last report decent thru the sell-off, looks like it got down to 73$

      Reply

  68. I just received an open ended optional conversion that has no expiration date.
    The applicable conversion rate is 19.1113 shares of Shulman A Inc. common stock ( CUSIP 808194104) per $ 1,000
    principal amount.
    Holders who convert will receive a total of $ 848.2742 per preferred stock ( $ 42.00 plus $ 2.386 ( $ 1.477 distributed on
    2/4/19 + $ 0.909 distributed on 04/01/19) in place of issuing the CVR per share).

    Not sure why they used an example of distributions from 2019. Anyways, get a $848/share vs $1060/share. Sounds like a deal to me. 🙂

    Reply

    1. Mr. C, all the other math mumbo jumbo was the tie in to the CVR the Schulman common shareholders received at consummation of the acquisition. Schulman was an active participant in a lawsuit against a company they acquired that provided false information about a product.
      So this is just the always available standing offer which you know well to ignore. Maybe…maybe, who knows, at some point they will dig into their wallets and offer something that will be interesting, who knows. Basically nobody accepted this in 2019 when deal closed. About 92% of float still remains outstanding. Maybe at some point they will view that 6% payment as a waste and offer us something good…Or not, and I will continue to hold.

      Reply

    2. Mr. C – I assume you’re talking about SLMNP? See https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1489393/000119312518254058/d598622dex22.htm within https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1489393/000119312518254058/d598622d8k.htm from Aug 21, 2018. I wonder what you’re receiving and why now???? There are no Shulman shares to convert to, hence the creation of the “put.”

      BTW, this is from my old notes, I did not re-read the Contingent Rights Agreement right now

      Reply

      1. 2WR, You dont get Schulman shares as you mentioned. You get the right to tender for that cash because the Schulman stock was bought out. So you get the cash based on the conversion formula that was in Schulman convertible prospectus, plus the CVR. And of course the preferred was originally a Schulman convertible. Its a “permanent frozen in time” owner optional redemption now.

        Reply

      2. I received it from Merrill. And the payment says it would be cash.

        Total Cash Payment per Pfd share = $ 848.2742

        Reply

        1. It’s just so odd that you’re receiving this at this time.. I wonder why,.. If nothing else, their mention of $848.2742 brings up the old debate of whether the right number was that or 802.6746…. I think collectively here on III it was decided the more accurate number expectation was 802.6746, but in any event, I hope never to have to find out for real which one is applicable….

          Reply

          1. i should have pasted this to explain what their calculation.
            EVENT DETAILS
            * * * * This event has no expiration at this time, the expiration date set in this notice is only temporary.* * * *
            The applicable conversion rate is 19.1113 shares of Shulman A Inc. common stock ( CUSIP 808194104) per $ 1,000
            principal amount.
            Holders who convert will receive a total of $ 848.2742 per preferred stock ( $ 42.00 plus $ 2.386 ( $ 1.477 distributed on
            2/4/19 + $ 0.909 distributed on 04/01/19) in place of issuing the CVR per share) .
            Below is an example of the payment breakdown for holders who instruct one ( 1) preferred stock to be converted
            1 Pfd share = 19.1113 common share * $ 42.00 = $ 802.6746
            1 Pfd share = 19.1113 CVR * $ 2.386 = $ 45.5996
            Total Cash Payment per Pfd share = $ 848.2742
            Converting holders who instruct between record date and payable date will forfeit their interest.

            So sounds like they are adding on money that was distributed to common holders in the past, and adding that to the preferreds? Hence the addition $45.60 cents / share.

            Regardless, I would never convert as there is a very large price discrepancy. The company is not going bankrupt, so I am not worried at all. Besides i dont need any more cash. 🙂

            Reply

            1. Thanks for the entire post, Mr. C. This cleans up some loose ends from the past. The $802 number you have matches what we were told in past. However, the CVR situation was always a bit more murkier and nebulous. And actually separate from the actual straight conversion offer. So basically the “floor” of this preferred is $848.

              Reply

            2. Mr. C – Couldn’t you use cash as chinking for you cabin in the woods?? It’s gotta be good for keeping wind and rain out from in between those logs……….lol

              Reply

              1. That would be kinda cool to have a log cabin and a “woodsy” feel, and then stash the cash in whatever that clayish material is? hahah. If shit hits the fan, i can always pull the cash out of the cabin. ha. Then you can go all out with wood, logs, etc, to create that great northern feel. :-).

                My lake home kinda sticks out like a sore thumb on the lake in the area, as the outside is stone and stucco.

                Reply

    3. Guys—I don’t own SLMNP but have been trying to buy it at $1,040. Looking for advice here as to whether I should continue to do so. Thanks.

      Reply

      1. Randy, I would just continue to be patient or walk away. It just went exD two weeks ago, so no real reason to pay up 3 months away from next divi. My last additional purchase was 1057 I believe, but that was just maybe a week before exD, so I really bought at $1042.

        Reply

    1. Yes, I noticed at one point this morning in pre-market it was trading more than $2 lower from Friday’s close.

      Reply

        1. Would appreciate any insight on this. It will still be paying a generous dividend forever or until the new co. calls. If one doesn’t anticipate possible need for the cash, seems like a better investment now than Friday, esp. under par. Will it need to be sold by ETFs, etc.? What am I missing?

          Reply

          1. PFF has 440,000 shares and it has to sell, its mandate doesn’t allow it to hold delisted stocks. not sure of other funds hold it and have to sell too.

            Reply

            1. Thanks, PT. Sounds like that would be primary driver. I really appreciate the collective knowledge of this website, and willingness to share.

              Reply

              1. I don’t know anything about this company, but it looks like GMLPP was priced with an expectation of October 2022 call on Friday. That should still be the base case assumption, but now it’s trading 5% below par. So if it gets called, you get a tidy return over 1.5 years. But if it doesn’t get called due to deteriorating fundamentals, you might get stuck in it. Seems interesting to watch over the next two weeks to see if it dips lower.

                Reply

                1. Seems there would be decent odds it might be called in 18 months. So, the current YTC is quite attractive.

                  Reply

                  1. I don’t disagree, but I’d like to see signs that PFF is exiting its 440,000 share position before I buy. I can’t argue against averaging in, though…maybe buy a little now and more if drops. I could certainly miss out altogether if it doesn’t drop further.

                    Reply

                    1. You mean a sign like this….

                      Volume 465,139
                      Avg. Volume 15,129

                      PFF could have reduced their position by 80-85% with that volume.

                    2. Justin, I would feel a lot better if it was. But PFF can be knuckle draggers so I worry none of that was PFF. They waited incredibly late on LTS-A and drove it down near $6 and had months to sell. They basically toilet flush dumped it until the shares were gone.

                    3. Justin, it is extraordinarily implausible that PFF had 80+% of the sales volume today. It’s not too hard to wait until tomorrow morning to find out.

                      I’m just looking at the risk/reward. Let’s say we find out that PFF sold a big chunk today and tomorrow GMLPP opens up a few pennies higher. Maybe I buy some and get pretty much the same price I could have had today.

                      Or maybe I wait and a few days from now, PFF comes in and dumps 440k shares in one price-insensitive dumping and knocks $2 off the price.

                      Pennies vs. dollars, my man. That’s what I’m focused on.

                    4. Appears they did not sell any. As of this morning it still shows they hold 440,862 shares.

                    6. Since I only bought 100 shares so far and am willing to go to 1,000, I have limit orders from $23 down to $20, cuz who knows what will happen.

                      Since this is a delisting and not part of a normal rebalance, PFF might sell it outside of the normal rebalancing period. So I’m just going to leave those limit orders in and be ready in case 50,000 share block sales come crashing in at any moment.

                    7. Justin and Karma:

                      I am not expecting a “toilet flush”-like dump in GMLPP similar to what happened to PFF’s LTSA holding. LTSA was a strange situation. PFF had an ample amount of time to tender their preferred shares to the Advisor Group and receive $25 per share in cash, but for some reason did not do so. They truly fell asleep on that one.

                      Once they realized the cutoff date was missed for tendering AND they found out their LTSA preferred shares were now only listed on the NASDAQ pink sheets, they dumped them indiscriminately with no regard for price – well after the merger of LTS-Advisor Group had closed.

                      We’ll see what happens here.

                    8. I haven’t explored the TDA website much, but just set up a text alert if the price drops below 23. I didn’t want to set up a limit order as these dumps can get crazy and I would rather just watch it unfold and make a decision.

                      Looking at the volume today, they still probably have quite a bit left.

                    9. I’m not expecting a massive collapse in price like LTSA, but it could get sloppy.

                      Now closing in on volume of 1 million in 2 days, but it may still be the case that PFF hasn’t sold a share of its 440,000.

                    10. eoz, there are pros and cons of setting an alert. Sometimes the price crashes due to large block sales, but then quickly recovers – if you don’t have some limit orders in, you might miss out. On the other hand, if the price is getting slowly pressured downward, then it might be in your favor to be a little slow on the trigger. Since I don’t know what will happen, I just used widely spaced limit orders and if my Schwab StreetSmartEdge gives me a little ding notifying me that an order has filled, I’ll take a look to see what’s going on.

                    12. Guys my memory may be dim on this, and I have no idea at all anyways. But if dim memory serves PFF had a bigger chunk of LTS-A than it has of GMLPP. So my point is I wouldnt be surprised if they dont have as much ability to “crash” this one like they did the former last year. Im just not going to get too excited on buying more unless it dives a buck or two more and then just a bit more chump change.
                      This sector of shipping gives me much angst, too. Additionally, I already have enough in general shipping to suit my needs.

                    13. Well I bought it today. I’ll buy more if it crashes more but no guarantee that it will so I’m not waiting around. Who can resist a bargain so I bought fleas on sale.

                    14. A few points on GMLPP:

                      1) PFF by far had the largest position of any fund @ ~440k shares. The next highest position was PFFA which holds 43K shares

                      2) Ishares (PFF) traders are incredibly good at moving large blocks of all kinds of stocks. Normally these are done off market with negotiated trades. For example, don’t expect to see 440k shares listed for sale on the NBBO. These large block trades are usually negotiated to NOT cause a material movement in price. They get reported as a single trade right around the 4:00PM close.

                      3) Everybody and their brother that would buy GMLPP knows that PFF must sell it. They don’t have to sell it instantly and likely have some discretion for how long they can continue holding it.

                      4) PFF is looking for one or more funds to step up and buy all 440K shares. It is unknowable if they can find one or more buyers without materially marking down the price.

                      5) My pure guess is that the buyers will win this one and force PFF to bomb the price to move the shares, so I would expect the price to drop further from the ~ 23.02 close of regular trading today. Would guess that the buyers would be hedge funds that have minimal constraints on what they can buy because not everybody wants to hold non-listed, very illiquid securities.

                    15. The big question not yet addressed is How safe is the dividend? If it’s not a flip or a call can we sit back and collect 9.5% dividends?

                    16. Tex the 2nd, the question is how much discretion they actually have. The job of an index fund is to track the index, so if the index removes the security, the index fund should adjust it’s holdings as quickly as possible.

                      In this case, the index is ICE Exchange-Listed Preferred & Hybrid Securities Index, of which I can find out nothing with a brief Google search. But the index has rules, whatever they may be, about how de-listings are to be handled. It’s possible that the index won’t actually take action until, per Golar’s press release, “GMLP intends to file a Form 25 Notification of Removal from Listing with the SEC on or about May 3, 2021”. A press release, after all, is not the same as an official SEC filing. So PFF may be on hold for another week. If anyone knows better, fill me in!

                      So as I’ve said, I think the price is already attractive and if you like the idea, you should at least be nibbling by now at $23. But it’s a bit of a game to try to average in at lower prices. But if one morning I see that PFF has sold most or all of its position, then I will just hope the price won’t bounce right away so I can buy a few more shares. But as long as that elephant is out there waiting to take a big elephant dump, I think waiting makes sense.

                    17. Martin, It basically is a B3 rating being new parent is B1. We are looking at 9.5% plus as it will go exD in about 2 weeks. Its QDI. Its a reasonable price now, but PFF does have it looks probably ~7-8% of float (too lazy to check final greenshoe that would appear on their books).
                      It can definitely fall more from sell pressure. But if its deemed credit worthy that QDI plus 9.5% will serve as a ballast when its said and done. Eventually it will find close to its true water level on OTC if patient. OTC when it finally gets there will not hinder liquidity on a $150 million float. But, it could have a second round of pressure down the road, if it gets held up in suspended animation for any duration. Look what it did to that Seaspan note. People wanted out after being stuck with it and were dumping at $24 right when they first had a chance. Personally Im not opposed to holding it longer term. But that is also why I am small ball buying too.

                    18. PFF has a ton of discretion. It is called representative indexing and you should be reading the prospectus of the etf wrapper rather than the underlying index. It gives them the flexibility to manage the etf however they see fit as long as it _mostly_ looks like the index. As Tex mentioned, these will likely get done in blocks.

                      LTSA is not analogous because the floating shares post tender were minimal so the pff shares had huge price impact as they owned a significant %.

                    19. LOL, PFF apparently BOUGHT 90 shares of GMLPP yesterday, probably due to modest inflows to the ETF. So it is clearly not acting on the expected delisting yet.

                    20. GMLPP early volume is down today. Looks like most everyone who wanted out, except for PFF, got out the last two days. This thing will probably bounce around a lot in the coming days.

                2. LTSA was what I was thinking of. I bought a lot of it at 11, and did not clearly understand how this listing change worked. I panicked and sold out at no gain. Wow, that would have been nice to have kept it (just checked the price).

                  The other change I’ve made is I do these types of trades in an IRA so I don’t worry about being fast and loose on the trades. Will be interesting to see what happens.

                  Reply

            2. This is out of my wheelhouse but I started buying anyway. If it’s falling because PFF et al are forced to sell and not based on fundamentals then it could be underpriced. I’ve made good money playing against these funds and their market moving trades.
              Dipping my toe in with a small buy, ready for more if it falls as others predicted, or if it stabilizes with good outlook,

              Reply

              1. Martin, you read my mind… I entered small at $23.80 today, will buy if it drops more, but never betting the farm. Big picture is this…The company was in trouble in January. The buyout saved them from the debt wall and preferred immediately jumped about $3 near par and has stayed there since before delistment announcement. Entry point is guessing game, but as long as new parent doesnt try to play games with it, it could be a decent high yield higher risk play for those so inclinded.

                Reply

                1. Wait for this Friday when the PFF has its monthly re-balance at the close. They could dump then.

                  Reply

                  1. bought just 200 @ 23.14 today.
                    limit order in at 21 and 19 incase PFF dumps.
                    I did very well with LTSA (still holding it from an average of $9 and hoping for a similar PFF dump scenario, although its VERY unlikely we get a chance to buy for pennies like LTSA

                    Reply

                2. I bought 100 yesterday at 23.80 and 150 more today at 23.12. Will wait for PFF now. I just cant play issues like this with much passion as its out of my wheelhouse as Martin said. FWIW, It does go exD early next month I assume.

                  Reply

                  1. Bought a small amount at $23.28. Have limit orders for larger quantities at $23 and below. We’ll see what happens.

                    I only have about 1.5% cash in my portfolio and I want to maintain that right now unless something really compelling is on offer. If, like some around here, I had 30+% cash sitting around, I would be accumulating this more aggressively. Certainly not a risk-free issue, but forced selling can present a nice entry point.

                    Reply

                3. Senior secured debt of the parent is rated B1.

                  They issued a new note to pay off “all existing debt” of the companies they acquired, but it is not clear what they intend to do with the preferreds.

                  Reply

                4. Grid – quick question. Since NFE is incorporated but the GMLPP preferred was originally part of a publicly traded partnership, do you think buyers today of GMLPP will still receive a K-1 at year-end?

                  I tend to stay away from any of the K-1 issuers, but GMLPP is certainly looking attractive today at $23.25.

                  Also – did you get the large Southern Bancshares information package in the mail this weekend? They are offering to buy 1,000 shares of the common (out of approximately 80,000 outstanding) for $4,900/share. SBNC common traded up to $5,000/share yesterday.

                  Preferred holders aren’t affected, (I own some SBNCM) but the package received was a wealth of information regarding the company. What a fantastic (albeit small) $4+ Billion asset bank!

                  Reply

                  1. Rob, Im out and about so I cant check. I thought this issue was QDI. Im trapped with K1 work next year anyways so it doesnt matter. But I didnt think this issue. Maybe someone can verify. I got my SBNCM packet yesterday also. I didnt see my 2 tickets for the annual ribfest BBQ though, lol.

                    Reply

                    1. Grid – just checked and found the answer after some digging:

                      “As a result of its election to be taxed as a corporation, Golar LNG Partners issues a US form 1099 to its registered unitholders, not a form K-1.”

                      In my opinion, since C-corp NFE also acquired GMLP’s general partner for cash, there is essentially no partnership that exists anymore – so quarterly dividends on GMLPP going forward would have to be QDI/1099.

                      Yes, and I also wish I had bought some SNBC common when I bought the preferred. Up, up, and away!

                    2. Grid, is MarketWatch correctly reporting a yield for SBNCM of 4.18% at this level ($21.55 as I type this)?

                      Tried to find SBNCM references here at III. The open search box returns loads of refs but when I click the link I’m usually brought to a page where the comment is no longer available. Any idea how to dig back in a given thread to earlier pages?

                    3. Bur, that appears to have been a small purchase over pay. Its a 9% $10 uncallable preferred. It was issued a convertible but that expired in the early 1990s. I had to dig deep in old SEC filings to figure it out. Bank is dark and getting darker with common buyout. There was only 80,000 common shares outstanding and they want it to where only insiders own it.

                    5. Speaking of illiquid bank pfds, Grid, someone paid $244 per for a few shares of FIISO a day or two ago. Wow. And some people think illiquid holders are doomed.

                      Go ahead. Sell me some cheap. As Charles Barkley said in another context some years ago, “I may be wrong, but I don’t think so.”

                  2. I received the Southern Bank package as well; Like you I own SBNCM, a solid & stable investment.
                    You made me check, and wow, SBNCM has gone up from the last time I looked at it.

                    Thanks to Grid who first turned me onto this opportunity a long time ago.

                    Reply

                  3. SBNC – best one can possibly do is $4900, and it will go down from there if the offer is prorated. No reason for anyone to pay above 4900 or even close to it.

                    Who all is going to the BBQ?

                    Reply

          2. nothing. That is exactly what is happening. You are placing a bet that the company redeems it without an exit strategy to sell it to someone else if the company runs into trouble.

            Reply

    2. I have an academic question – isn’t a notice of delisting frequently a non-event??? In other words, I can think of issues such as LMIBL, LMICL, LTSA etc. whereby there’s a notice of delisting and then they come back to being quoted and tradeable again somehow for reasons I’ve never taken the time to understand… What’s to prevent that from happening with GMLPP as well???

      Reply

  70. Notes on buying $1,000 issues. “Bob-in-De” has done an excellent job bringing several new (EIX, CXW, ALLY) $1,000 face value preferred issues to our attention. In case you are not used to trading these type issues, there are a few important differences to understand.

    Bonds and these preferreds are priced at roughly 100.00. You multiply this by 10 times to determine the actual price for each one bond. A preferred quoted at 102.5 means you will pay $1025 per each. Most of these will be called or mature @ 100.00 or $1,000.

    The $25 preferreds/babys we trade most commonly are primarily traded on either the NYSE or NASDAQ. And yes, I am ignoring illiquid issues that trade on the “pink sheets” or “over the counter” because they are a small fraction of the issues. When you want to trade a NYSE/NASDAQ you should see the same bid price and ask price regardless of which broker you are using. This is called the National Best Bid and Offer aka NBBO. If you place an order, your broker and exchange they use are legally obligated to “route” your order to achieve the best price.

    Bonds do NOT have a NBBO system. The bid and ask prices you see can and will be different from brokerage to brokerage.

    For the sake of brevity, the point is that if you are going to trade these $1,000 issues, you might be over paying and not know it. You can either compare prices from a few different brokerages or you can check the FINRA/ Morningstar website using the CUSIP to see actual prices in near real time.

    What caught my attention was the wide range of prices that investors were paying to buy these. For example, the new ALLY issue CUSIP 02005NBM1 had 186 buys ranging from 102.08 to 104.8 today. The price range was NOT a trend up or down, the price changes were basically random. There was three consecutive trades that went: 102.25-104.25-102.25. You can argue that the buyer paying 104.25, overpaid by $20 or ~ 2% per bond.

    I have been watching real time prices on the three issues that Bob mentioned. I might be watching an issue that is quoted at 101.5/102.0 and see a trade go through at 104. Presumably that buyer could have purchased the bonds from a different brokerage at that exact instant for $20 per bond less. There is one caveat on this and that sometimes the bid and ask quotes have higher minimum quantities, like $25,000 or $100,000, but in general you should be able to buy for less than 104 in a case like this.

    Link to FINRA/Morningstar bond reporting system:

    https://finra-markets.morningstar.com/BondCenter/Default.jsp

    Reply

    1. Tex – One other suggestion re: “For the sake of brevity, the point is that if you are going to trade these $1,000 issues, you might be over paying and not know it. You can either compare prices from a few different brokerages or you can check the FINRA/ Morningstar website using the CUSIP to see actual prices in near real time.” Maybe it’s an obvious point but what one can also do is compare what you see on FINRA vs what you’re broker is telling you so you can gain confidence that what you’re seeing in general reflects the facts as shown on FINRA. I know I’ve done that with Fidelity’s platform and gained confidence in what they show… I’ve not been trying to do much in the institutional market though recently but did check on one of Bob’s CUSIPs and couldnt find Fidelity showing it at all, so maybe that says something for what IBKR has to offer….. I’m not sure if Fidelity will show you anything if it doesn’t have at least one rating from either Moodys or S&P..

      Reply

      1. I compare Finra trades to desk quotes from Vanguard. And its take it or leave it pricing unrelated to Finra. Of course block trades get better deals. The only time I have really got satisfactory pricing was the EIX IPO where they were being shoveled out the door under par. Several times I called to get quotes to purchase something and just had to walk away as I was going to get fleeced.
        Its generally not worth my time to deal with $1000 preferreds from my brokerage as they have to hunt them down. A better brokerage may help, but Im not messing with another account.

        Reply

    2. Does anyone else own these issues in a Vanguard Account? I bought the EIX 5YR reset preferred when it was issued early in March. Vanguard is still unable to mark it correctly and my balance on this position is off by a factor of 100. They say they are aware of the issue but can’t provide a timeframe for when it will be fixed.

      Reply

      1. Same here Grichter. I will never sell because I dont want to lose that phantom 1.3 million profit sitting in my account, ha.

        Reply

        1. Yes Bob, it’s definitely a Vgd issue. They’ve frankly admitted as much the several times I’ve brought it up to them. With the same “no idea when it will be fixed” response grichter got.

          Reply

        2. This is funny, but it could be used for nefarious purposes.

          For instance, when I built my house I had to show the builder I had assets to cover the project. It would have been easy to buy a few of these bonds and show him the account balance while being pretty close to broke. Not sure how that would benefit anyone since construction would stop when a payment was missed, but there are probably similar scenarios where benefits could be gained. It would certainly make it easier to get a fully functional options account at least.

          Reply

      2. Very interesting. It’s a Vanguard issue, not an EIX issue. I own the EIX pref at IBKR and it’s marked correctly.

        And I also own the new Corecivic bond at Vanguard and it’s marked at 100x proper amount and has been since I bought it. For the time being I own 2.5 million $ in Corecivic bonds. So, the problem at Vanguard is not confined to EIX.

        Once the do get it fixed make sure you didn’t get hit with any margin interest due to the error.

        Reply

        1. I never signed up for margin at Vanguard but I can go negative as far as I want. As long as I sell to cover trades or pump cash in before market closes. A minute later and Im in trouble, ha.
          TD I use margin just to buy short term.

          Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *