First Trust Senior Floating Rate Income Fund II (NYSE:FCT) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

First Trust Senior Floating Rate Income Fund II (NYSE:FCT) saw a large drop in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 49,124 shares, a drop of 34.7% from the November 30th total of 75,267 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 232,788 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.2 days. Based on an average daily volume of 232,788 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.2 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Trust Senior Floating Rate Income Fund II

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FCT. Verity Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in First Trust Senior Floating Rate Income Fund II by 62.0% in the third quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 25,474 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 9,754 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First Trust Senior Floating Rate Income Fund II by 43.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 268,985 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,692,000 after acquiring an additional 80,984 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First Trust Senior Floating Rate Income Fund II by 25.8% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 56,986 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $570,000 after acquiring an additional 11,677 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of First Trust Senior Floating Rate Income Fund II by 24.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 634,778 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $6,348,000 after acquiring an additional 122,673 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Seven Mile Advisory purchased a new stake in First Trust Senior Floating Rate Income Fund II during the third quarter worth approximately $176,000.

First Trust Senior Floating Rate Income Fund II Price Performance

Shares of First Trust Senior Floating Rate Income Fund II stock opened at $10.09 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.91. First Trust Senior Floating Rate Income Fund II has a one year low of $8.61 and a one year high of $10.53.

First Trust Senior Floating Rate Income Fund II Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be given a $0.097 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.5%.

First Trust Senior Floating Rate Income Fund II Company Profile

First Trust Senior Floating Rate Income Fund II (NYSE: FCT) is a diversified, closed-end management investment company that seeks to provide current income with preservation of capital. Listed on the New York Stock Exchange, the fund pursues its objective by investing primarily in senior floating rate loans and other floating rate debt instruments of U.S. and non-U.S. companies. As a closed-end vehicle, FCT issues a fixed number of common shares and may utilize leverage to enhance returns for shareholders.

Under normal market conditions, FCT allocates at least 80% of its managed assets to senior floating rate loans, which are typically secured obligations of corporate borrowers.