Top shelf municipal bonds ended unchanged on Wednesday, according to traders, with a spate of new deals coming to market, led by issuers in Louisiana, Maryland and Virginia.
JPMorgan Securities priced the state of Louisiana's $275.94 million of Series 2016B general obligation refunding bonds for institutions after a one-day retail order period.
The issue was priced for institutions to yield from 1.63% with 3% and 5% coupons in a split 2022 maturity to 2.51% with a 5% coupon in 2029. On Tuesday, the issue was priced for retail to yield from 1.56% with 3% and 5% coupons in a split 2022 maturity to 2.43% with a 5% coupon in 2029.
JPMorgan also priced the state's $86.81 million of Series 2016C taxable GOs. The issue was priced at par to yield from 1.087% in 2017 to 1.989% in 2021.
The deals are rated AA by Standard & Poor's and AA-minus by Fitch Ratings.
Citigroup priced the Maryland Stadium Authority's $320 million of Series 2016 construction and revitalization program revenue bonds for the Baltimore City public schools.
The issue was priced as 5s to yield from 0.60% in 2017 to 2.58% in 2036; a 2041 term bond was priced as 5s to yield 2.73% while a 2046 term was priced as 5s to yield 2.79%. The deal is rated Aa3 by Moody's Investors Service, AA-minus by S&P and AA by Fitch.
The Stadium Authority is a state corporation that has issued tax-exempt bonds to construct stadiums, arenas and convention centers. In 2013, the state designated the agency as the bond issuing authority for the 21st Century School Buildings Plan, an effort to renovate the city's public school buildings.
The Stadium Authority isn't a frequent issuer. Since 2006, it has sold only about $226 million of bonds, with the largest offering occurring in 2011 when it held a $94.4 million sale. The agency, which hasn't been in the market since 2012, didn't sell any debt in 2008-2010.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch priced Arlington County, Va.'s $217.29 million of Series 2016A&B GOs.
The $55.2 million of Series 2016A public improvement GOs were priced to yield from 0.35% with a 4% coupon in 2016 to 2.24% with a 5% coupon in 2035. The $162.09 million of Series 2016B refunding GOs were priced to yield from 0.35% with a 4% coupon in 2016 to 2.75% at par in 2032.
The deal is rated triple-A by Moody's, S&P and Fitch and carries stable outlooks from all three rating agencies.
Secondary Market
The yield on the 10-year benchmark muni general obligation was steady from 1.59% on Tuesday, while the 30-year muni yield dropped was flat at 2.54%, according to the final read of the Municipal Market Data's triple-A scale.
U.S. Treasuries were narrowly mixed on Wednesday. The yield on the two-year Treasury increased to 0.79% from 0.75% on Tuesday, while the 10-year Treasury yield rose to 1.83% from 1.78% and the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond gained to 2.64% from 2.59%.
The 10-year muni to Treasury ratio was calculated at 84.3% on Tuesday compared with 89.2% on Tuesday, while the 30-year muni to Treasury ratio stood at 94.3% versus 97.5%, according to MMD.
