Short Interest in First Trust Indxx NextG ETF (NASDAQ:NXTG) Expands By 2,050.4%

First Trust Indxx NextG ETF (NASDAQ:NXTG) was the target of a large growth in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totaling 28,385 shares, a growth of 2,050.4% from the May 31st total of 1,320 shares. Currently, 0.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 26,937 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.1 days.

First Trust Indxx NextG ETF Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NXTG traded down $2.37 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $151.34. 14,589 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,907. The company’s 50 day moving average is $147.18 and its 200 day moving average is $125.25. First Trust Indxx NextG ETF has a one year low of $95.47 and a one year high of $167.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $559.96 million, a PE ratio of 22.81 and a beta of 1.03.

First Trust Indxx NextG ETF Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 25th will be given a dividend of $0.5768 per share. This represents a $2.31 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. This is an increase from First Trust Indxx NextG ETF’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 25th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Trust Indxx NextG ETF

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NXTG. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of First Trust Indxx NextG ETF by 1,966.7% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC purchased a new position in First Trust Indxx NextG ETF in the first quarter worth about $49,000. Arax Advisory Partners bought a new stake in First Trust Indxx NextG ETF during the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in First Trust Indxx NextG ETF by 200.0% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 651 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 434 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in First Trust Indxx NextG ETF during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $102,000.

About First Trust Indxx NextG ETF

The First Trust IndXX NextG ETF (NXTG) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the Indxx 5G & NextG Thematic index. The fund tracks a tiered-weighted index of global equities related to next generation digital cellular technologies. NXTG was launched on Feb 17, 2011 and is managed by First Trust.