Sprott Focus Trust, Inc. (NASDAQ:FUND) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Sprott Focus Trust, Inc. (NASDAQ:FUND) saw a significant decrease in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 24,781 shares, a decrease of 35.4% from the August 15th total of 38,379 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 22,236 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.1 days. Approximately 0.2% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Sprott Focus Trust Price Performance

NASDAQ:FUND opened at $10.04 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $10.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.01. Sprott Focus Trust has a 12 month low of $7.97 and a 12 month high of $10.99.

Sprott Focus Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.1503 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This is an increase from Sprott Focus Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14.

Insider Activity

In other Sprott Focus Trust news, Portfolio Manager Whitney George bought 71,664 shares of Sprott Focus Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $9.63 per share, for a total transaction of $690,124.32. Following the acquisition, the portfolio manager owned 3,326,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,031,238.59. The trade was a 2.20% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 54.83% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sprott Focus Trust

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FUND. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Sprott Focus Trust by 15.4% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 802,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,655,000 after purchasing an additional 106,805 shares in the last quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Sprott Focus Trust in the 2nd quarter worth $1,384,000. Readystate Asset Management LP acquired a new position in Sprott Focus Trust in the 2nd quarter worth $134,000. Acorn Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Sprott Focus Trust by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter. Acorn Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 45,010 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,158,000 after buying an additional 3,244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Sprott Focus Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at about $170,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 12.63% of the company’s stock.

Sprott Focus Trust Company Profile

Sprott Focus Trust, Inc is a closed-end investment company listed on the Nasdaq under the symbol FUND. The fund seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing primarily in a concentrated portfolio of publicly traded equity securities.

The fund’s investment approach emphasizes fundamental research and the selection of companies that its adviser believes offer attractive long-term investment potential. Its portfolio may include businesses across multiple industries and geographic markets, giving shareholders exposure to a diversified selection of domestic and international equities.

Sprott Focus Trust is managed by Sprott Asset Management, a subsidiary of Sprott Inc, an asset manager focused on real assets and alternative investments.