Short Interest in BlackRock Credit Allocation Income Trust (NYSE:BTZ) Expands By 38.4%

BlackRock Credit Allocation Income Trust (NYSE:BTZ) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 101,600 shares, a growth of 38.4% from the February 28th total of 73,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 265,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.4 days.

BlackRock Credit Allocation Income Trust Price Performance

NYSE BTZ opened at $10.67 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.82. BlackRock Credit Allocation Income Trust has a 52 week low of $9.92 and a 52 week high of $11.30.

BlackRock Credit Allocation Income Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.0839 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.44%. This is a positive change from BlackRock Credit Allocation Income Trust’s previous monthly dividend of $0.07.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BlackRock Credit Allocation Income Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northstar Financial Companies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock Credit Allocation Income Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $153,000. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock Credit Allocation Income Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $591,000. Elequin Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock Credit Allocation Income Trust in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $184,000. Waverly Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock Credit Allocation Income Trust in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $247,000. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock Credit Allocation Income Trust by 102.1% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 79,688 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $834,000 after buying an additional 40,262 shares during the last quarter.

About BlackRock Credit Allocation Income Trust

BlackRock Credit Allocation Income Trust is a closed ended balanced mutual fund launched by BlackRock, Inc The fund is co-managed by BlackRock Advisors, LLC and BlackRock (Singapore) Limited. It invests in the fixed income markets across the globe. For the fixed income portion of the portfolio, the fund primarily invests in securities with an average credit quality of BBB by Standard & Poor's Corporation.