Short Interest in iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF (NASDAQ:PFF) Increases By 23.7%

iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF (NASDAQ:PFF) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 7,644,392 shares, a growth of 23.7% from the January 29th total of 6,182,118 shares. Currently, 1.7% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 3,265,231 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days. Based on an average daily volume of 3,265,231 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days. Currently, 1.7% of the shares of the company are sold short.

iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF Price Performance

PFF stock traded up $0.14 on Wednesday, reaching $31.42. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,840,695 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,429,628. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $31.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.42. The company has a market capitalization of $14.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.53. iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF has a 52 week low of $28.70 and a 52 week high of $32.26.

iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a $0.0312 dividend. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Corsicana & Co. acquired a new stake in iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF in the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Payden & Rygel acquired a new position in iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF during the fourth quarter worth $61,000. Finally, Resources Management Corp CT ADV bought a new stake in shares of iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF during the 2nd quarter worth about $80,000. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About iShares Preferred and Income Securities ETF

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. The Underlying Index includes preferred stocks with a market capitalization over $100 million, which meet minimum price, liquidity, trading volume, maturity and other requirements determined by Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC, a subsidiary of The McGraw Hill Companies (S&P).