ProShares UltraShort Financials (NYSEARCA:SKF) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

ProShares UltraShort Financials (NYSEARCA:SKF) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 53,790 shares, a growth of 244.6% from the February 26th total of 15,611 shares. Currently, 13.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 73,267 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.7 days.

ProShares UltraShort Financials Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of SKF traded up $0.42 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $31.34. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 29,850 shares, compared to its average volume of 37,806. ProShares UltraShort Financials has a 52 week low of $23.86 and a 52 week high of $44.19. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $28.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.47.

ProShares UltraShort Financials Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be given a $0.1319 dividend. This represents a $0.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 25th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Group One Trading LLC bought a new stake in shares of ProShares UltraShort Financials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in ProShares UltraShort Financials by 20,938.7% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 6,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $166,000 after acquiring an additional 6,491 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in ProShares UltraShort Financials by 907.3% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 13,840 shares of the company’s stock worth $388,000 after acquiring an additional 12,466 shares during the last quarter.

ProShares UltraShort Financials Company Profile

ProShares UltraShort Financials (the Fund) seeks daily investment results that correspond to twice the inverse daily performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Financials Index (the Index). The Index measures the performance of the financial services industry of the United States equity market. Component companies include regional banks; United States-domiciled international banks; full line, life and property and casualty insurance companies; companies that invest directly or indirectly in real estate; diversified financial companies, such as Federal National Mortgage Association, credit card issuers and investment advisers; securities brokers and dealers, including investment banks, merchant banks and online brokers, and publicly traded stock exchanges.