Top-quality municipal bonds were weaker at mid-session, traders said, as two big New York issues came to market.
Goldman Sachs priced the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority's $1.06 billion of Hudson Rail Yards trust obligation bonds.
The issue was priced as 5s to yield 1.95% in 2046, 2.45% in 2051 and 2.70% in 2056. The deal is rated A2 by Moody's Investors Service and A-minus by Kroll Bond Rating Agency.
Ramirez & Co. priced the New York City Transitional Finance Authority's $800 million of tax-exempt Fiscal 2017 Series B Subseries B-1 future secured subordinate bonds for institutions on Wednesday after holding a two-day retail order period.
The deal was priced for institutions to yield from 0.85% with 4% and 5% coupons in a spilt 2019 maturity to approximately 3.014% with a 3% coupon in 2042. A 2018 maturity was offered as a sealed bid.
On Tuesday, Ramirez priced the issue for retail to yield from 0.85% with 4% and 5% coupons in a spilt 2019 maturity to approximately 3.014% with a 3% coupon in 2042. No retail orders were taken in the 2031, 2034 or 2036-2039 maturities. On Monday, the issue was priced for retail to yield from 0.84% with 4% and 5% coupons in a spilt 2019 maturity to 3% at par in 2042.
The deal is rated Aa1 by Moody's and triple-A by S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings.
The NYC TFA also competitively sold two taxable bond deals on Wednesday.
JPMorgan Securities won the TFA's $187.51 million of Fiscal 2017 Series B Subseries B-2 future secured subordinate bonds with a true interest cost of 2.22%. Pricing information was not immediately available.
Jefferies won the TFA's $62.5 million of Fiscal 2017 Series B Subseries B-3 future secured subordinate bonds with a TIC of 2.77%. The issue was priced at par to yield 2.67% in 2027 and 2.77% in 2028.
Wells Fargo Securities priced Rochester, Minn.'s $220 million of Series 2016B healthcare facilities revenue bonds for the Mayo Clinic. The bonds were priced to yield 2.32% with a 5% coupon in 2029 and 2.46% with a 5% coupon in 2031. The bonds were also priced to yield from 2.60% with a 5% coupon in 2033 to 2.81% with a 5% coupon in 2036. The deal is rated Aa2 by Moody's and AA by S&P.
Citigroup priced the Dallas Area Rapid Transit's $229.72 million of Series 2016B senior lien sales tax revenue refunding bonds. The bonds were priced to yield from 0.99% with a 3% coupon and 5% coupon in a split 2019 maturity to 1.39% with a 4% coupon and 5% coupon in a split 2022 maturity. The bonds were also priced to yield from 2.05% with a 5% coupon in 2028 to 2.75% with a 4% coupon in 2038. The deal is rated Aa2 by Moody's and AA-plus by S&P.
JPMorgan Securities priced Louisiana's $211.8 million of Series 2016A general obligation bonds. The bonds were priced to yield from 0.94% with a 3% coupon in 2018 to 2.71% with a 5% coupon in 2036. The 2017 maturity was offered as a sealed bid. The deal is rated Aa3 by Moody's, AA by S&P and AA-minus by Fitch.
Back in the competitive arena, the Virginia Public Building Authority sold three separate issues totaling $550 million.
Wells Fargo Securities won the $385.92 million of Series 2016A public facilities revenue bonds and Series 2016B refunding bonds with a TIC of 2.22%. Pricing information was not immediately available.
JPMorgan won the $150.75 million of Series 2016C public facilities revenue bonds subject to the alternative minimum tax with a TIC of 2.88%. Pricing information was not immediately available.
Raymond James won the $13.72 million of Series 2016D taxable public facilities revenue bonds with a TIC of 3.56%. All three sales are rated Aa1 by Moody's and AA-plus by S&P and Fitch.
Since 2006, the PBA has sold about $3.8 billion of debt, with the largest issuance occurring in 2010 when it sold about $651 million. In the same period, the authority has issued less than $300 million five times. The lowest year of issuance came in 2012 when it issued $72.4 million.
Seattle, Wash., sold $151 million of Series 2016C municipal light and power improvement and refunding revenue bonds. Citi won the deal with a TIC of 2.94%. The bonds were priced to yield from 0.70% with a 5% coupon in 2017 to 2.68% with a 4% coupon in 2037. A term bond in 2042 was priced as 4s to yield 2.80% and a term bond in 2046 was priced as 4s to yield 2.84%.The deal is rated Aa2 by Moody's and AA by S&P.
Rutherford County, Tenn., competitively sold $101 million of Series 2016B general obligation public improvement and school bonds. FTN Financial won the deal with a TIC of 2.36%. Pricing information was not immediately available. The deal is rated Aa1 by Moody's and AA-plus by S&P.
Bond Buyer Visible Supply
The Bond Buyer's 30-day visible supply calendar decreased $3.52 billion to $15.75 billion on Wednesday. The total is comprised of $3.75 billion of competitive sales and $11.998 billion of negotiated deals.
Secondary Market
The yield on the 10-year benchmark muni general obligation rose by as much as one basis point from 1.57% on Tuesday, while the yield on the 30-year rose as much as one basis point from 2.28%, according to a read of Municipal Market Data's triple-A scale.
Treasuries were stronger on Wednesday. The yield on the two-year Treasury declined to 0.78% from 0.80% on Tuesday, the 10-year Treasury yield dropped to 1.71% from 1.73% and the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond decreased to 2.45% from 2.47%.
On Tuesday, the 10-year muni to Treasury ratio was calculated at 90.6% compared to 91.1% on Monday, while the 30-year muni to Treasury ratio stood at 92.4% versus 93.1%, according to MMD.
MSRB: Previous Session's Activity
The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board reported 36,408 trades on Tuesday on volume of $11.09 billion.
