Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund Inc. (NYSE:PFO) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund Inc. (NYSE:PFO) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 11,848 shares, a growth of 66.6% from the February 26th total of 7,112 shares. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 37,159 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.3 days.

Institutional Trading of Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of PFO. Sit Investment Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. now owns 1,328,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,555,000 after purchasing an additional 73,704 shares in the last quarter. Rivernorth Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund by 62.6% during the 4th quarter. Rivernorth Capital Management LLC now owns 111,745 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,056,000 after buying an additional 43,033 shares during the last quarter. Mustico Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Mustico Financial Group Inc. now owns 81,339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $770,000 after buying an additional 4,788 shares during the last quarter. 1607 Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund by 32.5% during the fourth quarter. 1607 Capital Partners LLC now owns 263,244 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,488,000 after buying an additional 64,634 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC purchased a new position in Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund during the fourth quarter worth $232,000. 12.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund Price Performance

Shares of Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund stock traded down $0.14 on Friday, hitting $8.87. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 69,147 shares, compared to its average volume of 32,239. Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund has a 52-week low of $8.01 and a 52-week high of $9.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $9.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.54.

Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.0546 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 23rd. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.4%.

Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund Company Profile

Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund (NYSE:PFO) is a closed-end management investment company designed to provide investors with a high level of current income. The fund focuses its portfolio primarily on preferred and participating securities, including traditional preferred shares, convertible preferred instruments, trust preferred issues and other hybrid securities issued by corporations and financial institutions.

Through broad diversification across industry sectors and geographies, PFO aims to manage credit and interest-rate risk while pursuing attractive yield opportunities.