Short Interest in First Trust Active Factor Small Cap ETF (NYSEARCA:AFSM) Drops By 54.6%

First Trust Active Factor Small Cap ETF (NYSEARCA:AFSM) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 10,565 shares, a drop of 54.6% from the December 31st total of 23,272 shares. Currently, 0.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 20,714 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.5 days. Based on an average daily volume of 20,714 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.5 days. Currently, 0.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AFSM. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its position in shares of First Trust Active Factor Small Cap ETF by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 17,017 shares of the company’s stock valued at $508,000 after buying an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in First Trust Active Factor Small Cap ETF by 2.0% during the second quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 33,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $986,000 after acquiring an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. Smith Moore & CO. raised its position in First Trust Active Factor Small Cap ETF by 7.7% during the third quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 9,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,000 after purchasing an additional 672 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Trust Active Factor Small Cap ETF by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 9,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its stake in shares of First Trust Active Factor Small Cap ETF by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 15,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $455,000 after purchasing an additional 1,309 shares during the last quarter.

First Trust Active Factor Small Cap ETF Stock Performance

AFSM stock opened at $34.45 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $33.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.40. First Trust Active Factor Small Cap ETF has a one year low of $24.42 and a one year high of $35.32. The company has a market capitalization of $74.07 million, a PE ratio of 13.11 and a beta of 1.04.

First Trust Active Factor Small Cap ETF Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th were paid a dividend of $0.0622 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th. This is a boost from First Trust Active Factor Small Cap ETF’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%.

About First Trust Active Factor Small Cap ETF

The First Trust Active Factor Small Cap ETF (AFSM) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in small-cap stocks. The fund is an actively managed portfolio of US small-cap companies that exhibit exposure to one or more investing factors. AFSM was launched on Dec 3, 2019 and is managed by First Trust.