Western Asset Mortgage Opportunity Fund Inc. (NYSE:DMO) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Western Asset Mortgage Opportunity Fund Inc. (NYSE:DMO) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totaling 14,885 shares, a decline of 72.9% from the April 15th total of 54,925 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 33,135 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.4 days.

Western Asset Mortgage Opportunity Fund Trading Up 0.1%

DMO traded up $0.01 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $11.16. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 20,750 shares, compared to its average volume of 54,439. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $10.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.23. Western Asset Mortgage Opportunity Fund has a twelve month low of $10.42 and a twelve month high of $12.11.

Western Asset Mortgage Opportunity Fund Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 12.9%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Western Asset Mortgage Opportunity Fund by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 391,231 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $4,327,000 after acquiring an additional 14,948 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in Western Asset Mortgage Opportunity Fund by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 251,590 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,783,000 after acquiring an additional 30,402 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Western Asset Mortgage Opportunity Fund by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 242,543 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,843,000 after acquiring an additional 12,090 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Western Asset Mortgage Opportunity Fund by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 218,782 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,612,000 after acquiring an additional 17,374 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Western Asset Mortgage Opportunity Fund by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 87,941 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,031,000 after acquiring an additional 9,350 shares during the last quarter.

Western Asset Mortgage Opportunity Fund Company Profile

Western Asset Mortgage Opportunity Fund, Inc (NYSE: DMO) is a closed‐end management investment company that seeks to provide a high level of current income, with capital preservation as a secondary objective. The fund pursues these goals by allocating its assets among a diversified portfolio of mortgage‐related securities.

The fund’s core investments include agency and non‐agency residential mortgage‐backed securities (MBS), commercial mortgage‐backed securities (CMBS) and asset‐backed securities (ABS) secured by pools of auto loans, credit card receivables, home equity loans and other consumer debt obligations.