iShares U.S. Utilities ETF (NYSEARCA:IDU) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

iShares U.S. Utilities ETF (NYSEARCA:IDU) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totaling 70,792 shares, a drop of 33.5% from the September 30th total of 106,465 shares. Currently, 0.6% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 157,748 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.4 days.

iShares U.S. Utilities ETF Price Performance

Shares of iShares U.S. Utilities ETF stock traded down $0.24 on Tuesday, hitting $111.43. The company had a trading volume of 42,697 shares, compared to its average volume of 181,616. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $106.58 and a 200-day moving average of $112.30. iShares U.S. Utilities ETF has a twelve month low of $100.00 and a twelve month high of $120.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.72 and a beta of 0.56.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of iShares U.S. Utilities ETF by 12,706.0% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 10,757 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,249,000 after purchasing an additional 10,673 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in iShares U.S. Utilities ETF by 100.4% during the first quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 36,303 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,215,000 after buying an additional 18,185 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of iShares U.S. Utilities ETF in the third quarter valued at $547,000. Sovran Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in iShares U.S. Utilities ETF by 134.5% during the first quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC now owns 19,752 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,337,000 after purchasing an additional 11,330 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its holdings in iShares U.S. Utilities ETF by 155.1% in the 2nd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 8,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $911,000 after buying an additional 4,897 shares during the period.

About iShares U.S. Utilities ETF

iShares U.S. Utilities ETF (the Fund) is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks investment results that correspond to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Dow Jones U.S. Utilities Index (the Underlying Index). The Underlying Index measures the performance of the utilities sector of the United States equity market. Its components primarily include utilities companies. BlackRock Fund Advisors acts as an investment adviser of the Fund.