ProShares UltraShort Energy (NYSEARCA:DUG) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

ProShares UltraShort Energy (NYSEARCA:DUG) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 74,354 shares, an increase of 123.1% from the March 15th total of 33,325 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 165,692 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.4 days. Currently, 7.7% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Trading of ProShares UltraShort Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in ProShares UltraShort Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in ProShares UltraShort Energy by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 8,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $267,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in ProShares UltraShort Energy by 7,879.8% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 29,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,097,000 after buying an additional 28,919 shares during the period.

ProShares UltraShort Energy Trading Up 4.0%

Shares of ProShares UltraShort Energy stock traded up $0.77 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $19.95. 26,109 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 90,820. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.85. ProShares UltraShort Energy has a 52-week low of $15.65 and a 52-week high of $44.59.

ProShares UltraShort Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 25th were given a dividend of $0.0845 per share. This represents a $0.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 25th.

ProShares UltraShort Energy Company Profile

ProShares UltraShort Oil & Gas (the Fund) seeks daily investment results that correspond to twice the inverse daily performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Oil & Gas Index. The Dow Jones U.S. Oil & Gas Index measures the performance of the oil and gas industry of the United States equity market. Component companies include oil drilling equipment and services, oil companies (major and secondary), pipelines, liquid, solid or gaseous fossil fuel producers and service companies. The Fund takes positions in securities and/or financial instruments that, in combination, should have similar daily return characteristics as -200% of the daily return of the index.