First Trust Senior Loan ETF (NASDAQ:FTSL) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

First Trust Senior Loan ETF (NASDAQ:FTSL) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 256,371 shares, a growth of 330.2% from the June 30th total of 59,597 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 258,225 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.0 days. Approximately 0.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Trust Senior Loan ETF

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. New England Private Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in First Trust Senior Loan ETF by 2,022.3% in the 4th quarter. New England Private Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,774,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,455,000 after purchasing an additional 1,691,007 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Trust Senior Loan ETF by 4.0% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,563,161 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,655,000 after buying an additional 60,649 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of First Trust Senior Loan ETF by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,550,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,145,000 after buying an additional 25,058 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of First Trust Senior Loan ETF by 15.7% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,274,813 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,097,000 after acquiring an additional 173,354 shares during the period. Finally, One Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of First Trust Senior Loan ETF by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. One Capital Management LLC now owns 1,263,061 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,949,000 after acquiring an additional 128,141 shares during the period.

First Trust Senior Loan ETF Stock Down 0.0%

NASDAQ FTSL opened at $44.72 on Tuesday. First Trust Senior Loan ETF has a 52 week low of $44.37 and a 52 week high of $46.15. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $44.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.10.

First Trust Senior Loan ETF Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.225 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 21st. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.0%.

About First Trust Senior Loan ETF

The First Trust Senior Loan Fund (FTSL) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the S&P\u002FLSTA U.S. Leveraged Loan 100 index. The fund holds senior floating rate bank loans from firms around the globe. The actively managed fund can hold up to 20% of assets in non-senior loans, including high-yield bonds and equities. FTSL was launched on May 1, 2013 and is managed by First Trust.