Short Interest in Vanguard Utilities ETF (NYSEARCA:VPU) Declines By 43.6%

Vanguard Utilities ETF (NYSEARCA:VPU) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 73,846 shares, a decline of 43.6% from the February 26th total of 130,904 shares. Approximately 0.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 297,508 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.2 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Beacon Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vanguard Utilities ETF by 178.2% in the second quarter. Beacon Capital Management Inc. now owns 737,018 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,091,000 after buying an additional 472,113 shares during the period. New England Private Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Vanguard Utilities ETF by 1,879.2% in the 4th quarter. New England Private Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 475,432 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,749,000 after acquiring an additional 451,410 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Vanguard Utilities ETF by 1,819.8% in the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 122,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,600,000 after acquiring an additional 115,773 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Vanguard Utilities ETF by 90.6% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 228,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,277,000 after acquiring an additional 108,479 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Vanguard Utilities ETF during the 4th quarter valued at $14,732,000.

Vanguard Utilities ETF Stock Performance

Shares of VPU stock traded up $0.96 on Friday, hitting $196.88. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 309,780 shares, compared to its average volume of 301,106. Vanguard Utilities ETF has a fifty-two week low of $154.00 and a fifty-two week high of $206.10. The company has a market capitalization of $8.37 billion, a PE ratio of 20.60 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $195.84 and its 200-day moving average is $192.00.

About Vanguard Utilities ETF

Vanguard Utilities ETF (the Fund) is an exchange-traded class of shares issued by Vanguard Utilities Index Fund. The Fund tracks the performance of Morgan Stanley Capital International United States Investable Market Utilities Index, an index made up of stocks of large, medium-size and small United States companies in the utilities sector, as classified under the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS). This GICS sector is made up of those companies considered electric, gas, or water utilities, or companies that operate as independent producers and/or distributors of power.