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

First Trust Senior Loan ETF (NASDAQ:FTSL) saw a significant drop in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 188,102 shares, a drop of 35.3% from the February 26th total of 290,658 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 375,897 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.5 days. Currently, 0.4% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Trust Senior Loan ETF

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in First Trust Senior Loan ETF in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Asset Dedication LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Trust Senior Loan ETF during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Trust Senior Loan ETF during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Trust Senior Loan ETF in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its position in shares of First Trust Senior Loan ETF by 233.3% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 1,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 763 shares during the last quarter.

First Trust Senior Loan ETF Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of FTSL stock opened at $44.51 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.65. First Trust Senior Loan ETF has a 12-month low of $44.30 and a 12-month high of $46.19.

First Trust Senior Loan ETF Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 26th.

About First Trust Senior Loan ETF

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. FTSL was launched on May 1, 2013 and is managed by First Trust.