Short Interest in First Trust Senior Loan ETF (NASDAQ:FTSL) Rises By 282.6%

First Trust Senior Loan ETF (NASDAQ:FTSL) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totaling 484,705 shares, an increase of 282.6% from the April 15th total of 126,676 shares. Currently, 1.0% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 247,007 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Trust Senior Loan ETF

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of First Trust Senior Loan ETF by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 172,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,914,000 after buying an additional 16,409 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Trust Senior Loan ETF by 114.7% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 93,582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,290,000 after buying an additional 49,990 shares in the last quarter. Algorithmic Investment Models LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Trust Senior Loan ETF in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,456,000. Lion Street Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Trust Senior Loan ETF in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,174,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of First Trust Senior Loan ETF by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 312,161 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,322,000 after buying an additional 23,177 shares in the last quarter.

First Trust Senior Loan ETF Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ FTSL traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $45.20. The stock had a trading volume of 180,924 shares, compared to its average volume of 345,082. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $44.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.46. First Trust Senior Loan ETF has a 52 week low of $44.37 and a 52 week high of $46.19.

First Trust Senior Loan ETF Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 21st were paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 21st. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.2%.

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.