John Hancock Preferred Income Fund (NYSE:HPI) Short Interest Update

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund (NYSE:HPI – Get Rating) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totalling 74,500 shares, an increase of 20.2% from the April 15th total of 62,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 60,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.2 days.

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE:HPI opened at $14.21 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $15.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.16. John Hancock Preferred Income Fund has a 12 month low of $14.16 and a 12 month high of $19.23.

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 11th will be given a $0.1235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 10th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.43%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HPI. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in John Hancock Preferred Income Fund by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 28,892 shares of the company’s stock worth $464,000 after buying an additional 1,454 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its stake in John Hancock Preferred Income Fund by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 372,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,982,000 after purchasing an additional 23,870 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in John Hancock Preferred Income Fund by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 212,484 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,410,000 after purchasing an additional 12,574 shares in the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in John Hancock Preferred Income Fund during the fourth quarter valued at $355,000. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp grew its holdings in shares of John Hancock Preferred Income Fund by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 79,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,270,000 after purchasing an additional 4,285 shares during the last quarter.

About John Hancock Preferred Income Fund

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John Hancock Preferred Income Fund operates as a closed-end investment fund/investment trust. It seeks to provide a high level of current income consistent with preservation of capital by investing its assets in preferred stocks or other preferred securities, including convertible preferred securities.