John Hancock Preferred Income Fund (NYSE:HPI) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund (NYSE:HPI) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totaling 67,212 shares, a growth of 72.5% from the April 30th total of 38,955 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 57,551 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.2 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On John Hancock Preferred Income Fund

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HPI. Huntington National Bank bought a new stake in shares of John Hancock Preferred Income Fund during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Arax Advisory Partners bought a new stake in shares of John Hancock Preferred Income Fund during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of John Hancock Preferred Income Fund during the 4th quarter worth approximately $73,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of John Hancock Preferred Income Fund by 47.7% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 6,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 2,023 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of John Hancock Preferred Income Fund during the 4th quarter worth approximately $177,000.

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund Stock Performance

NYSE HPI opened at $16.14 on Wednesday. John Hancock Preferred Income Fund has a 52 week low of $15.26 and a 52 week high of $17.61. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $15.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.24.

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.1235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 11th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.2%.

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund Company Profile

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund (NYSE: HPI) is a closed-end management investment company structured as a statutory trust under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The fund’s primary objective is to provide high current income with growth of capital as a secondary goal. It pursues this objective principally through investments in preferred securities, debt instruments and, to a lesser extent, equity securities.

The fund focuses on preferred stocks issued by U.S. and foreign issuers across a variety of industries, including financials, utilities and industrials.