iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF (NASDAQ:PFF) Short Interest Update

iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF (NASDAQ:PFF) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 12,160,000 shares, a growth of 32.5% from the December 15th total of 9,180,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,164,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PFF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF by 51.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,453,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,314,000 after buying an additional 491,005 shares in the last quarter. Hilton Capital Management LLC boosted its position in iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter. Hilton Capital Management LLC now owns 1,444,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,009,000 after acquiring an additional 239,661 shares during the period. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. bought a new position in shares of iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF in the third quarter worth $4,669,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF by 7.7% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,465,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,695,000 after purchasing an additional 104,770 shares during the period. Finally, Graypoint LLC raised its stake in shares of iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF by 82.2% during the fourth quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 186,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,856,000 after purchasing an additional 84,051 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF Stock Performance

Shares of iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF stock traded up $0.07 on Friday, reaching $31.75. 3,082,508 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,978,019. The firm has a market cap of $14.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.51. iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF has a 1-year low of $30.56 and a 1-year high of $33.59. The company’s 50-day moving average is $32.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.34.

iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a $0.1767 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.68%. This is a boost from iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF’s previous monthly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th.

iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF Company Profile

iShares U.S. Preferred Stock ETF (the Fund) is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks investment results, which correspond to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the S&P U.S. Preferred Stock Index (the Underlying Index). The Underlying Index measures the performance of a select group of preferred stocks listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), NYSE Arca, Inc (NYSE Arca), NYSE Amex, NASDAQ Global Select Market, NASDAQ Select Market or NASDAQ Capital Market.