Western Asset High Income Opportunity Fund Inc. (NYSE:HIO) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Western Asset High Income Opportunity Fund Inc. (NYSE:HIO) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 206,458 shares, an increase of 73.2% from the February 26th total of 119,224 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 474,834 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.4 days.

Western Asset High Income Opportunity Fund Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of HIO traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $3.54. 356,792 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 416,646. Western Asset High Income Opportunity Fund has a 12 month low of $3.36 and a 12 month high of $4.05. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $3.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.78.

Western Asset High Income Opportunity Fund Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.0355 per share. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 12.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HIO. Sit Investment Associates Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Western Asset High Income Opportunity Fund by 33.2% in the 4th quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. now owns 2,235,264 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $8,293,000 after purchasing an additional 556,840 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Western Asset High Income Opportunity Fund by 16.3% in the third quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 1,429,226 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $5,488,000 after purchasing an additional 200,675 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Western Asset High Income Opportunity Fund by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,220,952 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $4,530,000 after purchasing an additional 201,345 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in Western Asset High Income Opportunity Fund by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 776,289 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $2,880,000 after purchasing an additional 92,096 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its position in Western Asset High Income Opportunity Fund by 59.7% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 753,190 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,892,000 after buying an additional 281,615 shares during the period.

About Western Asset High Income Opportunity Fund

Western Asset High Income Opportunity Fund Inc (NYSE: HIO) is a diversified closed-end management investment company that seeks to provide high current income and capital appreciation by investing primarily in high-yield and other fixed-income securities. The Fund’s portfolio is actively managed by Western Asset Management Company, an affiliate of Franklin Templeton, and may include below-investment-grade corporate debt, emerging-market sovereign and corporate bonds, bank loans, mortgage- and asset-backed securities.