John Hancock Preferred Income Fund (NYSE:HPI) Short Interest Update

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund (NYSE:HPI) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 39,500 shares, a decline of 6.4% from the June 15th total of 42,200 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 48,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.8 days.

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund Price Performance

Shares of HPI traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $17.40. 7,442 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 55,538. John Hancock Preferred Income Fund has a twelve month low of $12.85 and a twelve month high of $17.40. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $16.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $16.36.

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.1235 per share. This is a boost from John Hancock Preferred Income Fund’s previous monthly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 11th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.52%.

Institutional Trading of John Hancock Preferred Income Fund

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of John Hancock Preferred Income Fund by 10.5% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 21,964 shares of the company’s stock valued at $365,000 after acquiring an additional 2,086 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in shares of John Hancock Preferred Income Fund by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 274,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,571,000 after purchasing an additional 24,559 shares during the period. TSP Capital Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of John Hancock Preferred Income Fund by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. TSP Capital Management Group LLC now owns 125,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,086,000 after purchasing an additional 11,950 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of John Hancock Preferred Income Fund by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 18,451 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 1,391 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC acquired a new stake in shares of John Hancock Preferred Income Fund in the first quarter valued at $58,000.

About John Hancock Preferred Income Fund

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund is a closed ended balanced mutual fund launched and managed by John Hancock Investment Management LLC. It is co-managed by John Hancock Asset Management. The fund invests in the public equity and fixed income markets of the United States. It seeks to invest in securities of companies operating across diversified sectors.