iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF (NASDAQ:PFF) Short Interest Update

iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF (NASDAQ:PFF) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 7,644,392 shares, an increase of 23.7% from the January 29th total of 6,182,118 shares. Approximately 1.7% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 3,265,231 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days. Based on an average trading volume of 3,265,231 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days. Approximately 1.7% of the company’s shares are short sold.

iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ PFF traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $31.31. 2,862,826 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,432,721. The firm has a market cap of $13.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.42. iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF has a twelve month low of $28.70 and a twelve month high of $32.26.

iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.0312 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%.

Institutional Trading of iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PFF. Amicus Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,270,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 410,553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,711,000 after buying an additional 26,481 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC raised its position in shares of iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 55,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,727,000 after buying an additional 5,070 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in shares of iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 286,917 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,883,000 after buying an additional 3,360 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arkos Global Advisors lifted its stake in shares of iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Arkos Global Advisors now owns 84,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,605,000 after acquiring an additional 6,502 shares during the period. 4.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF Company Profile

iShares U.S. Preferred Stock ETF (the Fund) is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks investment results, which correspond to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the S&P U.S. Preferred Stock Index (the Underlying Index). The Underlying Index measures the performance of a select group of preferred stocks listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), NYSE Arca, Inc (NYSE Arca), NYSE Amex, NASDAQ Global Select Market, NASDAQ Select Market or NASDAQ Capital Market. The Underlying Index includes preferred stocks with a market capitalization over $100 million, which meet minimum price, liquidity, trading volume, maturity and other requirements determined by Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC, a subsidiary of The McGraw Hill Companies (S&P).