John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund (NYSE:BTO) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund (NYSE:BTO) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,353 shares, a decline of 56.8% from the September 30th total of 7,757 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 47,860 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.1 days. Approximately 0.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BTO traded down $0.31 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $37.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 22,483 shares, compared to its average volume of 36,588. John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund has a fifty-two week low of $32.01 and a fifty-two week high of $42.00. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.60.

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th were given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 11th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BTO. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund by 3.3% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 267,804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,606,000 after purchasing an additional 8,443 shares in the last quarter. FCA Corp TX grew its stake in shares of John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund by 2.4% during the first quarter. FCA Corp TX now owns 88,984 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,192,000 after purchasing an additional 2,064 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund by 3.0% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 45,151 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,620,000 after purchasing an additional 1,311 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund by 3.4% in the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 23,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $859,000 after purchasing an additional 796 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund by 4.4% in the first quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $541,000 after purchasing an additional 639 shares in the last quarter. 19.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund (NYSE:BTO) is a closed-end investment company that seeks to provide investors with a high level of current income and long-term capital appreciation. The fund focuses primarily on the financial services sector.

Its portfolio may include common stocks, preferred securities and debt investments issued by companies such as banks, insurers, asset managers, brokerages, specialty finance firms and other financial institutions. The fund may also invest across different areas of the financial industry and geographic markets as its investment team identifies opportunities.

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund is advised by John Hancock Investment Management, the asset-management business associated with Manulife Investment Management.