Definition
Preferred Stock is a special equity security that has properties of both equity and debt. It is generally considered a hybrid instrument. Preferred stock is senior to common stock, but is subordinate to bonds in terms of claim or rights to their share of the assets of the company.
Preferred stock has priority over common stock in the payment of dividends and any payments received when a company liquidates.
Preferred stock comes in many forms. It can be:
Convertible or Non-Convertible
Cumulative or Non-Cumulative
Voting or Non-Voting
Callable or Non-Callable
Maturity Date or No Maturity Date
A preferred stock without a maturity date is called a perpetual preferred stock. These are relatively rare. A good example of perpetual preferred stock is the many series of Public Storage (PSA) preferred shares that trade on the New York Stock Exchange.
Before investing in preferred stock, it is important to know which of the above groups the stock belongs to. Is it convertible or non-convertible? Are dividends cumulative or non-cumulative?
It is also critical that an investor knows what bonds the company has in front of the preferred stock. Bondholders get paid first. So the decision to buy a preferred stock can be similar to the decision to buy a bond. But, remember, the preferred stock of a company with bonds is junior to those bonds.
Unless a preferred stock is convertible, the upside in a preferred stock investment is more limited than in a common stock investment. If a company doubles its earnings, it is usually under no more obligation to double the dividends paid to preferred shareholders than it is to double the interest paid to its bankers and bondholders.So preferred stock is very different from common stock.
Explanation
When a company needs capital but does not wish to issue debt, they may sell preferred stocks to investors.
For instance, during the financial crisis of 2008, Goldman Sachs (GS) issued a combination of preferred stock and common stock options for $5 billion of capital to Warren Buffetts Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A)(BRK.B). In this deal, Berkshire Hathaway paid $5 billion for 10% cumulative perpetual preferred stock and warrants to buy 43.5 million shares of Goldman Sachs at $115 a share. Goldman Sachs bought back the preferred in 2010. Guess how much money Warren Buffett made in this deal in two years? Read How Much Did Warren Buffetts Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) Make on Its Goldman Sachs (GS) Preferred Stock?
The market value of Preferred Stocks needs to be added to the market value of common stocks in the calculation of enterprise value.
Enterprise Value = Market Cap of Common Stocks + Market Value of Preferred Stocks + Debt + Minority Interest - Cash and Cash Equivalents.
In the calculation of Book Value, the par value of Preferred Stocks needs to subtracted from total equity. Therefore, Book Value is calculated as:
Book Value per Share = (Total Equity-Preferred Stocks)/ Total Shares Outstanding
Dividends paid to Preferred Stocks need to be subtracted from net income in the calculation of earnings per share:
Earnings-per-Share (EPS) = (Net Income - Preferred Dividends) / Total Shares Outstanding Related Terms
Total Shares Outstanding,
Earnings-per-Share,
Market Cap* All numbers are in millions except for per share dataBio-Reference Labs, Inc. Annual Data
| Oct03 | Oct04 | Oct05 | Oct06 | Oct07 | Oct08 | Oct09 | Oct10 | Oct11 | Oct12 |
|---|
| Preferred Stock |  | | | | | | | | | |
|---|
Bio-Reference Labs, Inc. Quarterly Data
| Jan11 | Apr11 | Jul11 | Oct11 | Jan12 | Apr12 | Jul12 | Oct12 | Jan13 | Apr13 |
|---|
| Preferred Stock | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|
European Shorting
BRLI has been successfully added into Your Stock Email Alerts list.
Feedback
My Portfolios
Browse Gurus
Bookmark
Add to Portfolio
Get Email Alerts
RSS Update
Company Website
SEC Reports
RSS