Sprott Focus Trust, Inc. (NASDAQ:FUND) Short Interest Up 76.7% in January

Sprott Focus Trust, Inc. (NASDAQ:FUND) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 10,913 shares, a growth of 76.7% from the January 15th total of 6,175 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 33,131 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.3 days. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 33,131 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.3 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Portfolio Manager W Whitney George sold 17,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.85, for a total transaction of $156,645.00. Following the sale, the portfolio manager owned 306,805 shares in the company, valued at $2,715,224.25. This represents a 5.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have bought a total of 272,022 shares of company stock worth $2,339,907 in the last quarter. 52.93% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sprott Focus Trust

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wolverine Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Sprott Focus Trust by 79.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 4,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,783 shares during the last quarter. Advocate Investing Services LLC bought a new position in Sprott Focus Trust in the 4th quarter worth about $61,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Sprott Focus Trust by 20.5% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 13,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $100,000 after purchasing an additional 2,300 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sprott Focus Trust by 126.7% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 45,493 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $378,000 after buying an additional 25,425 shares during the period. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sprott Focus Trust by 203.4% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 50,438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $377,000 after buying an additional 33,815 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 12.63% of the company’s stock.

Sprott Focus Trust Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of Sprott Focus Trust stock traded up $0.05 on Friday, reaching $9.78. 14,075 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 33,539. Sprott Focus Trust has a 1-year low of $6.21 and a 1-year high of $9.96. The company’s 50-day moving average is $9.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.50.

Sprott Focus Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th were issued a dividend of $0.1911 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.8%. This is a positive change from Sprott Focus Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th.

Sprott Focus Trust Company Profile

Sprott Focus Trust, Inc is a closed‐end management investment company trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker FUND. Externally managed by Sprott Asset Management LP, the trust offers investors targeted exposure to publicly traded companies that generate revenue through precious metals royalty and streaming agreements. By focusing on this segment, the trust provides a specialized approach to gaining potential income and capital appreciation tied to gold, silver and other base metal production.

The investment strategy centers on assembling a diversified portfolio of royalty and streaming firms with long‐life assets, stable cash flow profiles and strong growth outlooks.