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

First Trust Senior Loan ETF (NASDAQ:FTSL) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 181,900 shares, a growth of 490.6% from the March 31st total of 30,800 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 311,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.6 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FTSL. Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in First Trust Senior Loan ETF in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Trust Senior Loan ETF by 189.5% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. purchased a new stake in shares of First Trust Senior Loan ETF in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Sachetta LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Trust Senior Loan ETF in the fourth quarter valued at about $61,000. Finally, Consultiva Wealth Management CORP. purchased a new stake in shares of First Trust Senior Loan ETF in the third quarter valued at about $99,000.

First Trust Senior Loan ETF Price Performance

NASDAQ:FTSL traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $46.03. 136,982 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 320,706. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.99. First Trust Senior Loan ETF has a fifty-two week low of $44.53 and a fifty-two week high of $46.99.

First Trust Senior Loan ETF Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be paid a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $3.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.69%.

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.