Short Interest in Abrdn Japan Equity Fund Inc (NYSE:JEQ) Grows By 221.7%

Abrdn Japan Equity Fund Inc (NYSE:JEQ) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 14,800 shares, a growth of 221.7% from the June 30th total of 4,600 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 34,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.4 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abrdn Japan Equity Fund

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in JEQ. Successful Portfolios LLC increased its holdings in Abrdn Japan Equity Fund by 3.4% in the first quarter. Successful Portfolios LLC now owns 82,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $514,000 after purchasing an additional 2,709 shares during the last quarter. Matisse Capital bought a new stake in Abrdn Japan Equity Fund in the fourth quarter valued at about $332,000. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Abrdn Japan Equity Fund by 239.1% in the fourth quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 34,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $197,000 after purchasing an additional 24,244 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.72% of the company’s stock.

Abrdn Japan Equity Fund Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of JEQ traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $5.88. 25,618 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 41,555. Abrdn Japan Equity Fund has a 1-year low of $4.99 and a 1-year high of $6.39. The business has a fifty day moving average of $5.92 and a 200-day moving average of $5.99.

Abrdn Japan Equity Fund Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.16%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 22nd. This is a positive change from Abrdn Japan Equity Fund’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11.

About Abrdn Japan Equity Fund

Abrdn Japan Equity Fund Inc is a close ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by Aberdeen Standard Investments (Asia) Limited. It invests in the public equity markets of Japan. The fund invests in stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors. It employs quantitative analysis to build its portfolio.