First Trust S&P REIT Index Fund (NYSEARCA:FRI) Short Interest Update

First Trust S&P REIT Index Fund (NYSEARCA:FRI) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 3,706 shares, a drop of 60.2% from the February 26th total of 9,319 shares. Approximately 0.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 26,454 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.1 days.

First Trust S&P REIT Index Fund Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of FRI stock opened at $27.95 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $156.52 million, a P/E ratio of 35.23 and a beta of 1.01. First Trust S&P REIT Index Fund has a 1 year low of $23.15 and a 1 year high of $30.45. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.24.

First Trust S&P REIT Index Fund Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 26th will be given a $0.0928 dividend. This represents a $0.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 26th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FRI. TCP Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Trust S&P REIT Index Fund by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. TCP Asset Management LLC now owns 380,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,380,000 after buying an additional 37,570 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in First Trust S&P REIT Index Fund by 265.4% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 149,934 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,095,000 after acquiring an additional 108,899 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its holdings in First Trust S&P REIT Index Fund by 60.3% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 110,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,989,000 after acquiring an additional 41,547 shares in the last quarter. TrueWealth Financial Partners acquired a new position in First Trust S&P REIT Index Fund in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,942,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in shares of First Trust S&P REIT Index Fund by 85.2% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 99,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,789,000 after acquiring an additional 45,635 shares during the period.

About First Trust S&P REIT Index Fund

First Trust S&P REIT Index Fund (the Fund) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield of an equity index called the S&P United States REIT Index (the Index). The Index measures the securitized United States real estate investment trust (REIT) market and maintains a constituency that reflects the composition of the overall REIT market. The Index contains securities selected for market representation according to geography and property type. All securities in the Index satisfy the Index’s liquidity, price and market capitalization requirements.