John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund (NYSE:BTO) Short Interest Down 84.5% in August

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund (NYSE:BTO) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 947 shares, a drop of 84.5% from the August 15th total of 6,127 shares. Currently, 0.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 33,538 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.0 days.

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund Stock Performance

NYSE BTO traded down $0.66 on Friday, reaching $38.81. The stock had a trading volume of 51,564 shares, compared to its average volume of 28,547. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $40.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.78. John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund has a 1-year low of $32.01 and a 1-year high of $42.00.

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BTO. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its stake in John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 558,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,793,000 after purchasing an additional 28,231 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 22,951 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $813,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund by 24.9% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 41,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,464,000 after purchasing an additional 8,240 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund by 39.2% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 17,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $609,000 after purchasing an additional 4,839 shares during the period. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund by 5.8% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 21,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $768,000 after buying an additional 1,174 shares in the last quarter. 19.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund Company Profile

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.