John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund (NYSE:BTO) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund (NYSE:BTO) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,170 shares, a decrease of 76.9% from the June 30th total of 13,728 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 49,232 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.1 days. Currently, 0.0% of the company’s stock are short sold.

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund Price Performance

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund stock traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $40.58. 32,527 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 47,940. John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund has a twelve month low of $32.01 and a twelve month high of $41.00. The company has a fifty day moving average of $38.27 and a 200-day moving average of $37.14.

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 11th were paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 11th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BTO. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 86,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,043,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 9,229 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund by 2.5% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 22,951 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $813,000 after buying an additional 552 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund by 4.4% during the first quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $541,000 after buying an additional 639 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund by 3.4% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 23,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $859,000 after buying an additional 796 shares during the period. 19.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund (NYSE: BTO) is a closed-end management investment company sponsored by John Hancock Investment Management, a division of Manulife Investment Management. Since its inception in August 2004, the fund has sought to deliver total return through a combination of current income and capital appreciation. As a publicly traded fund, it offers investors access to a diversified portfolio of financial services companies that might otherwise require direct equity investments or specialized mandates.

The fund primarily invests in common stocks, preferred stocks and convertible securities issued by companies in the banking, insurance, brokerage and specialty finance sectors.