First Trust Institutional Preferred Securities and Income ETF (NYSEARCA:FPEI) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

First Trust Institutional Preferred Securities and Income ETF (NYSEARCA:FPEI) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 431,716 shares, a drop of 16.9% from the January 15th total of 519,480 shares. Currently, 0.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 465,726 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.9 days. Based on an average trading volume of 465,726 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.9 days. Currently, 0.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

First Trust Institutional Preferred Securities and Income ETF Stock Performance

NYSEARCA:FPEI traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $19.57. 65,252 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 439,316. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.36. First Trust Institutional Preferred Securities and Income ETF has a fifty-two week low of $17.81 and a fifty-two week high of $19.57.

First Trust Institutional Preferred Securities and Income ETF Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 21st were paid a $0.0913 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 21st. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FPEI. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in First Trust Institutional Preferred Securities and Income ETF by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 222,966 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,323,000 after buying an additional 32,660 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. increased its position in First Trust Institutional Preferred Securities and Income ETF by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 141,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,748,000 after purchasing an additional 4,151 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in First Trust Institutional Preferred Securities and Income ETF by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 5,023,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,415,000 after purchasing an additional 249,812 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC lifted its stake in First Trust Institutional Preferred Securities and Income ETF by 25.2% in the 4th quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC now owns 87,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,696,000 after purchasing an additional 17,623 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC lifted its stake in First Trust Institutional Preferred Securities and Income ETF by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 43,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $844,000 after purchasing an additional 5,959 shares during the last quarter.

About First Trust Institutional Preferred Securities and Income ETF

The First Trust Institutional Preferred Securities and Income ETF (FPEI) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in broad credit fixed income. The fund is actively managed to provide current income and total return by investing in global institutional preferred and income-producing debt securities. FPEI was launched on Aug 22, 2017 and is managed by First Trust.