Short Interest in ASA Gold and Precious Metals Limited (NYSE:ASA) Drops By 46.7%

ASA Gold and Precious Metals Limited (NYSE:ASA) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totaling 9,772 shares, a decrease of 46.7% from the April 15th total of 18,321 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 47,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.2 days. Approximately 0.1% of the company’s stock are short sold.

ASA Gold and Precious Metals Stock Performance

NYSE:ASA traded down $0.91 on Monday, reaching $63.83. The stock had a trading volume of 242,907 shares, compared to its average volume of 99,853. The company has a 50-day moving average of $65.56 and a 200 day moving average of $62.27. ASA Gold and Precious Metals has a 12-month low of $28.67 and a 12-month high of $83.20.

ASA Gold and Precious Metals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 1st were given a $0.04 dividend. This represents a yield of 13.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 1st.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of ASA Gold and Precious Metals in a report on Friday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy”.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ASA Gold and Precious Metals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASA. Saba Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in ASA Gold and Precious Metals by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Saba Capital Management L.P. now owns 5,391,713 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $321,724,000 after buying an additional 735,036 shares during the last quarter. Almitas Capital LLC purchased a new position in ASA Gold and Precious Metals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $15,359,000. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in ASA Gold and Precious Metals by 882.4% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 360,577 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $22,366,000 after buying an additional 323,875 shares during the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of ASA Gold and Precious Metals during the third quarter worth about $6,411,000. Finally, Altium Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of ASA Gold and Precious Metals during the fourth quarter worth about $3,116,000.

ASA Gold and Precious Metals Company Profile

ASA Gold & Precious Metals Limited, trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker ASA, is a closed-end investment company dedicated to providing shareholders with targeted exposure to the precious metals sector. Established in 1959 and domiciled in Guernsey, the company aims to combine dividend income with the potential for long-term capital appreciation by investing in a diversified suite of gold, silver, platinum and palladium assets.

The firm’s core activities involve constructing and managing a portfolio that blends equity positions in precious metals mining companies with direct holdings of physical bullion.