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

First Trust Senior Loan ETF (NASDAQ:FTSL) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 64,200 shares, an increase of 5.9% from the November 30th total of 60,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 270,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.2 days.

First Trust Senior Loan ETF Stock Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ FTSL opened at $46.24 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $46.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.09. First Trust Senior Loan ETF has a 52 week low of $45.23 and a 52 week high of $46.99.

First Trust Senior Loan ETF Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Trust Senior Loan ETF

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. One Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in First Trust Senior Loan ETF by 4.7% during the second quarter. One Capital Management LLC now owns 1,362,059 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,260,000 after acquiring an additional 60,909 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of First Trust Senior Loan ETF by 11.2% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 728,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,292,000 after purchasing an additional 73,314 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its stake in First Trust Senior Loan ETF by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 582,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,730,000 after purchasing an additional 64,467 shares during the period. Virtue Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in First Trust Senior Loan ETF by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 433,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,897,000 after purchasing an additional 43,432 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in First Trust Senior Loan ETF by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 364,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,722,000 after purchasing an additional 15,007 shares during the period.

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.