Short Interest in John Hancock Income Securities Trust (NYSE:JHS) Declines By 45.0%

John Hancock Income Securities Trust (NYSE:JHS) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totaling 4,248 shares, a decrease of 45.0% from the April 15th total of 7,718 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 26,051 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.2 days. Currently, 0.0% of the company’s stock are sold short.

John Hancock Income Securities Trust Price Performance

Shares of JHS traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $10.99. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 9,095 shares, compared to its average volume of 27,047. The company’s 50-day moving average is $11.09 and its 200-day moving average is $11.45. John Hancock Income Securities Trust has a 52-week low of $10.74 and a 52-week high of $12.09.

John Hancock Income Securities Trust Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 12th were given a dividend of $0.1377 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $0.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On John Hancock Income Securities Trust

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. 1607 Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in John Hancock Income Securities Trust by 2.3% during the third quarter. 1607 Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,294,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,110,000 after acquiring an additional 28,770 shares during the last quarter. Riverbridge Partners LLC lifted its position in John Hancock Income Securities Trust by 4.0% during the first quarter. Riverbridge Partners LLC now owns 200,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,197,000 after acquiring an additional 7,788 shares during the last quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC lifted its position in John Hancock Income Securities Trust by 60.1% during the fourth quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 131,547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,540,000 after acquiring an additional 49,377 shares during the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp lifted its position in John Hancock Income Securities Trust by 35.7% during the fourth quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 105,878 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,240,000 after acquiring an additional 27,841 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in John Hancock Income Securities Trust by 23.9% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 60,103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $678,000 after acquiring an additional 11,587 shares during the last quarter.

John Hancock Income Securities Trust Company Profile

John Hancock Income Securities Trust (NYSE: JHS) is a diversified, closed-end management investment company that seeks to provide shareholders with high current income while preserving capital. Trading on the New York Stock Exchange since its launch in the late 1970s, the trust offers investors access to a broad portfolio of fixed-income securities under a professional management structure.

The fund’s primary investment activities include purchasing U.S. government and agency obligations, investment-grade corporate debt, mortgage- and asset-backed securities, preferred stocks, and selected foreign debt instruments.