Western Asset Emerging Markets Debt Fund Inc. (NYSE:EMD) Short Interest Up 30.2% in January

Western Asset Emerging Markets Debt Fund Inc. (NYSE:EMD) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 92,757 shares, a growth of 30.2% from the January 15th total of 71,219 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 278,249 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.3 days. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 278,249 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.3 days.

Western Asset Emerging Markets Debt Fund Price Performance

Western Asset Emerging Markets Debt Fund stock opened at $11.28 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $10.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.55. Western Asset Emerging Markets Debt Fund has a twelve month low of $8.56 and a twelve month high of $11.28.

Western Asset Emerging Markets Debt Fund Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.095 per share. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 10.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 20th.

Institutional Trading of Western Asset Emerging Markets Debt Fund

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EMD. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Western Asset Emerging Markets Debt Fund by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,968,464 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,335,000 after acquiring an additional 354,205 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Western Asset Emerging Markets Debt Fund by 38.1% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 491,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,074,000 after purchasing an additional 135,673 shares during the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Western Asset Emerging Markets Debt Fund by 20.4% during the third quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 623,598 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,435,000 after purchasing an additional 105,855 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Western Asset Emerging Markets Debt Fund by 103.5% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 159,904 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,607,000 after purchasing an additional 81,318 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Asset Emerging Markets Debt Fund in the fourth quarter worth about $459,000. 33.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Western Asset Emerging Markets Debt Fund Company Profile

Western Asset Emerging Markets Debt Fund Inc (NYSE: EMD) is a closed-end management investment company launched in December 2004 and managed by Western Asset Management Company, a global fixed-income specialist. The fund seeks to provide a high level of current income by investing primarily in debt securities issued by sovereign, quasi-sovereign and corporate issuers in emerging markets. Its diversified approach combines top-down macroeconomic analysis with bottom-up credit research to identify attractive risk-adjusted opportunities across developing economies.

EMD’s portfolio spans a wide range of instruments, including sovereign government bonds, supranational obligations, corporate credits and other fixed-income securities.