The main reason, IMO, why such stocks remain at attractive levels is that they have been mostly ignored by the mainstream financial press.
Preferred stocks have been sorely misunderstood for a long time - I read constantly in other sites ( SA, IV, Morningstar, Bogleheads etc ) - so many investors consider them toxic and stay far away.
One poster even maintained that Preferred Stocks have " all the disadvantages and none of the advantages of common ".
And, hey, that's fine by me. They have their investing philosophy, and should follow that. And I see it as less turmoil in the sector from weak hands.
The preferreds that we have been mentioning in this thread tend to be in stronger hands, very thinly traded. Traders shy away from such stocks as there is no profit from trading. Institutions do not play here as there is insufficient liquidity due to low daily volumes.
I believe that such stocks will continue to reward the few who understand them and willing to do their DD accordingly.
For example, look at Mulligan's favorite today - AILLL. I bought yesterday @ $26.10. Today is exDiv for 40 cents/sh. The bid today is $26.26 - HIGHER than yesterday. Zero volume. What is there to dislike about that ?