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

First Trust Senior Floating Rate Income Fund II (NYSE:FCT) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 42,700 shares, an increase of 24.5% from the November 30th total of 34,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 112,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.4 days.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider James A. Bowen sold 3,955 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.41, for a total value of $41,171.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Institutional Trading of First Trust Senior Floating Rate Income Fund II

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in First Trust Senior Floating Rate Income Fund II by 1,095.8% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 265,472 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 243,272 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in First Trust Senior Floating Rate Income Fund II by 647.8% during the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,349 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 5,500 shares during the period. Wolverine Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in First Trust Senior Floating Rate Income Fund II during the second quarter worth about $79,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in First Trust Senior Floating Rate Income Fund II by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,150 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $112,000 after acquiring an additional 1,150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in First Trust Senior Floating Rate Income Fund II by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,483 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $160,000 after acquiring an additional 1,542 shares during the last quarter.

First Trust Senior Floating Rate Income Fund II Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FCT opened at $10.47 on Tuesday. First Trust Senior Floating Rate Income Fund II has a 52 week low of $9.70 and a 52 week high of $10.93. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.30.

First Trust Senior Floating Rate Income Fund II Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a $0.097 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.12%.

About First Trust Senior Floating Rate Income Fund II

First Trust Senior Floating Rate Income Fund II is a closed-ended fixed income mutual fund launched and managed by First Trust Advisors L.P. The fund invests in the fixed income markets of the United States. It seeks to invest in a portfolio of senior secured floating rate corporate loans. The fund benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the S&P/LSTA Leveraged Loan Index.