First Trust Nasdaq Oil & Gas ETF (NASDAQ:FTXN) Short Interest Up 327.3% in December

First Trust Nasdaq Oil & Gas ETF (NASDAQ:FTXN) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,700 shares, an increase of 327.3% from the December 15th total of 1,100 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 42,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.1 days.

First Trust Nasdaq Oil & Gas ETF Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FTXN traded up $0.66 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $30.46. 29,746 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 37,521. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.01 million, a P/E ratio of 6.47 and a beta of 1.44. First Trust Nasdaq Oil & Gas ETF has a twelve month low of $26.60 and a twelve month high of $33.72.

First Trust Nasdaq Oil & Gas ETF Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.1768 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th.

Institutional Trading of First Trust Nasdaq Oil & Gas ETF

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stevard LLC acquired a new stake in First Trust Nasdaq Oil & Gas ETF in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $363,000. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in First Trust Nasdaq Oil & Gas ETF by 39.7% in the 2nd quarter. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. now owns 26,756 shares of the company’s stock valued at $826,000 after purchasing an additional 7,609 shares during the last quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in First Trust Nasdaq Oil & Gas ETF by 11.8% in the 2nd quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC now owns 14,459 shares of the company’s stock valued at $446,000 after purchasing an additional 1,531 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in First Trust Nasdaq Oil & Gas ETF by 176.5% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 101,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,122,000 after purchasing an additional 64,583 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clarus Wealth Advisors boosted its position in First Trust Nasdaq Oil & Gas ETF by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Clarus Wealth Advisors now owns 17,268 shares of the company’s stock valued at $537,000 after buying an additional 806 shares during the period.

About First Trust Nasdaq Oil & Gas ETF

The First Trust Nasdaq Oil & Gas ETF (FTXN) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the NASDAQ US Smart Oil & Gas index. The fund tracks an index composed of 50 US oil and gas companies. Holdings are selected by liquidity and weighted based on volatility, value and growth factors. FTXN was launched on Sep 20, 2016 and is managed by First Trust.