Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund Inc. (NYSE:PFO) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund Inc. (NYSE:PFO) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totaling 53,204 shares, an increase of 225.4% from the August 31st total of 16,350 shares. Currently, 0.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 21,556 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund Stock Performance

NYSE:PFO traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $8.68. 64,203 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 22,762. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $9.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.12. Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund has a fifty-two week low of $8.65 and a fifty-two week high of $9.88.

Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.0567 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 23rd. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.8%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PFO. Closed End Fund Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund in the fourth quarter valued at about $909,000. Sit Investment Associates Inc. increased its position in Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. now owns 1,328,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,555,000 after acquiring an additional 73,704 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp raised its stake in Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund by 115.9% in the 4th quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 129,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,227,000 after purchasing an additional 69,717 shares in the last quarter. 1607 Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund by 32.5% in the 4th quarter. 1607 Capital Partners LLC now owns 263,244 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,488,000 after purchasing an additional 64,634 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mustico Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Mustico Financial Group Inc. now owns 81,339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $770,000 after purchasing an additional 4,788 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 12.90% of the company’s stock.

Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund Company Profile

Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund is a closed-end investment fund listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol PFO. The fund seeks to provide investors with a high level of current income, while pursuing capital appreciation as a secondary objective.

The fund primarily invests in preferred securities and other income-producing securities. Its portfolio may include preferred stocks, hybrid securities, corporate debt and other fixed-income investments issued by companies in sectors such as financial services, utilities and industrials.