First Trust Senior Loan ETF (NASDAQ:FTSL) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

First Trust Senior Loan ETF (NASDAQ:FTSL) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 502,600 shares, a growth of 1,007.0% from the February 28th total of 45,400 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 316,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.6 days. Currently, 1.0% of the shares of the company are sold short.

First Trust Senior Loan ETF Trading Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ:FTSL opened at $45.75 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $46.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.18. First Trust Senior Loan ETF has a 1-year low of $45.23 and a 1-year high of $46.55.

First Trust Senior Loan ETF Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 27th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 27th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.82%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Trust Senior Loan ETF

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FTSL. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in First Trust Senior Loan ETF by 53.3% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 206,703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,558,000 after purchasing an additional 71,847 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in First Trust Senior Loan ETF by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 50,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,345,000 after buying an additional 7,389 shares in the last quarter. Armis Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Trust Senior Loan ETF during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,485,000. PVG Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of First Trust Senior Loan ETF in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $239,000. Finally, Richmond Investment Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Trust Senior Loan ETF in the fourth quarter worth approximately $201,000.

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.