First Trust Senior Loan ETF (NASDAQ:FTSL) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

First Trust Senior Loan ETF (NASDAQ:FTSL) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totaling 484,705 shares, an increase of 282.6% from the April 15th total of 126,676 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 247,007 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

First Trust Senior Loan ETF Trading Up 0.1%

FTSL stock traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $45.20. 180,924 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 345,082. First Trust Senior Loan ETF has a twelve month low of $44.37 and a twelve month high of $46.19. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.46.

First Trust Senior Loan ETF Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 21st were issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 6.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 21st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Trust Senior Loan ETF

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its holdings in First Trust Senior Loan ETF by 10.5% during the third quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 172,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,914,000 after purchasing an additional 16,409 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in First Trust Senior Loan ETF by 114.7% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 93,582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,290,000 after purchasing an additional 49,990 shares during the last quarter. Algorithmic Investment Models LLC acquired a new position in First Trust Senior Loan ETF during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,456,000. Lion Street Advisors LLC acquired a new position in First Trust Senior Loan ETF during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,174,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew its holdings in First Trust Senior Loan ETF by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 312,161 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,322,000 after purchasing an additional 23,177 shares during the last quarter.

First Trust Senior Loan ETF Company Profile

The First Trust Senior Loan Fund (FTSL) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the S&P\u002FLSTA U.S. Leveraged Loan 100 index. The fund holds senior floating rate bank loans from firms around the globe. The actively managed fund can hold up to 20% of assets in non-senior loans, including high-yield bonds and equities. FTSL was launched on May 1, 2013 and is managed by First Trust.