Short Interest in First Trust High Income Strategic Focus ETF (NASDAQ:HISF) Increases By 90.4%

First Trust High Income Strategic Focus ETF (NASDAQ:HISF) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 10,913 shares, an increase of 90.4% from the August 15th total of 5,732 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 8,121 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.3 days. Approximately 0.5% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Trust High Income Strategic Focus ETF

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in First Trust High Income Strategic Focus ETF in the second quarter valued at $1,186,000. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its stake in First Trust High Income Strategic Focus ETF by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 26,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,210,000 after buying an additional 1,380 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in First Trust High Income Strategic Focus ETF by 11.8% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 43,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,941,000 after buying an additional 4,618 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in First Trust High Income Strategic Focus ETF by 72.1% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 63,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,799,000 after buying an additional 26,452 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in shares of First Trust High Income Strategic Focus ETF by 38.2% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 129,548 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,861,000 after acquiring an additional 35,807 shares in the last quarter. 51.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Trust High Income Strategic Focus ETF Price Performance

Shares of HISF stock traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $43.15. 30,815 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,697. The business’s fifty day moving average is $43.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.73 million, a P/E ratio of 0.06 and a beta of 0.27. First Trust High Income Strategic Focus ETF has a 12-month low of $43.14 and a 12-month high of $45.61.

First Trust High Income Strategic Focus ETF Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st were issued a dividend of $0.182 per share. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 21st.

First Trust High Income Strategic Focus ETF Company Profile

The First Trust High Income Strategic Focus ETF (HISF) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in broad credit fixed income. The fund uses a fund-of-funds structure to primarily seek income across a broad range of fixed income securities of US and non-US issuers. HISF was launched on Aug 13, 2014 and is managed by First Trust.