Western Asset Emerging Markets Debt Fund Inc. (NYSE:EMD) Short Interest Up 69.1% in April

Western Asset Emerging Markets Debt Fund Inc. (NYSE:EMD) was the target of a large increase in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 157,229 shares, an increase of 69.1% from the March 31st total of 92,990 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 225,958 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.7 days. Approximately 0.5% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Institutional Trading of Western Asset Emerging Markets Debt Fund

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in EMD. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Western Asset Emerging Markets Debt Fund by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 92,651 shares of the company’s stock valued at $916,000 after buying an additional 1,464 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in Western Asset Emerging Markets Debt Fund by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 69,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $697,000 after purchasing an additional 3,595 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Western Asset Emerging Markets Debt Fund by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 355,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,578,000 after purchasing an additional 4,273 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Western Asset Emerging Markets Debt Fund by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 359,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,612,000 after purchasing an additional 18,873 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Western Asset Emerging Markets Debt Fund by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 433,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,362,000 after purchasing an additional 24,936 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 33.05% of the company’s stock.

Western Asset Emerging Markets Debt Fund Price Performance

Shares of EMD traded down $0.08 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $10.69. The stock had a trading volume of 27,603 shares, compared to its average volume of 239,700. Western Asset Emerging Markets Debt Fund has a 52 week low of $9.27 and a 52 week high of $11.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $10.50 and a 200 day moving average of $10.63.

Western Asset Emerging Markets Debt Fund Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a $0.095 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.7%.

About Western Asset Emerging Markets Debt Fund

Western Asset Emerging Markets Debt Fund Inc (NYSE: EMD) is a closed-end management investment company launched in December 2004 and managed by Western Asset Management Company, a global fixed-income specialist. The fund seeks to provide a high level of current income by investing primarily in debt securities issued by sovereign, quasi-sovereign and corporate issuers in emerging markets. Its diversified approach combines top-down macroeconomic analysis with bottom-up credit research to identify attractive risk-adjusted opportunities across developing economies.

EMD’s portfolio spans a wide range of instruments, including sovereign government bonds, supranational obligations, corporate credits and other fixed-income securities.