First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund (NASDAQ:QQEW) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund (NASDAQ:QQEW) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totaling 25,435 shares, an increase of 280.1% from the April 15th total of 6,692 shares. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 56,108 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.5 days.

First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund Stock Performance

Shares of First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund stock traded down $0.73 on Friday, hitting $144.37. 47,189 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 55,773. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.18 and a beta of 1.05. First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund has a 52 week low of $122.38 and a 52 week high of $146.54. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $134.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $137.96.

First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 26th were given a dividend of $0.0204 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 26th. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund by 2.2% during the third quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $485,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Smith Moore & CO. increased its stake in First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 1,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 5,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $819,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 997 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. increased its stake in First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 5,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $779,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter.

About First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund

The First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund (QQEW) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the NASDAQ-100 Equally Weighted index. The fund tracks an equal-weighted version of the NASDAQ 100. QQEW was launched on Apr 19, 2006 and is managed by First Trust.