What are preferred shares? Theyre called preferred because they have preference over common shares -- the class of stock that most investors own -- when it comes to the payment of dividends (if cash is running low at the company) and in the case the company has to liquidate. (In most liquidations, investors who hold common stock get nothing.) Preferred shares pay a dividend that is stipulated and in most cases fixed at the time theyre offered to the public. Dividend payments do not go up over time as the company gets more profitable, as they usually do with common shares that pay a dividend. Preferred shares generally do not carry voting rights in matters that come before shareholders.
When do companies issue preferred shares? When they have the cash flow to pay the dividends but dont want to issue bonds because they either dont want to add debt to the books or because capital is cheaper in the equity markets.//// Typically companies issued preferred stock instead of common shares when they want to prevent the dilution of voting rights ////and when they want to write very specific financial terms for the shares. Preferred stock comes in an almost infinite variety of flavors, each with slightly different financial characteristics.
////..so I'm guessing this is overall a positive move to keep our long investment safe..??? ////
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