Virtus Dividend, Interest & Premium Strategy Fund (NYSE:NFJ) Shares Shorted: Short Interest Down 55.3% in October

Virtus Dividend, Interest & Premium Strategy Fund (NYSE:NFJ) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totaling 230,275 shares, a decrease of 55.3% from the September 30th total of 515,445 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 374,867 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.6 days.

Virtus Dividend, Interest & Premium Strategy Fund Stock Performance

NYSE NFJ traded down $0.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $14.22. The stock had a trading volume of 486,412 shares, compared to its average volume of 210,798. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.40. Virtus Dividend, Interest & Premium Strategy Fund has a 52-week low of $12.25 and a 52-week high of $15.75.

Virtus Dividend, Interest & Premium Strategy Fund Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 14th were issued a $0.3050 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 14th. This represents a $1.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.6%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Saba Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in Virtus Dividend, Interest & Premium Strategy Fund by 18.2% in the first quarter. Saba Capital Management L.P. now owns 10,213,194 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $128,788,000 after purchasing an additional 1,573,163 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Virtus Dividend, Interest & Premium Strategy Fund by 1.3% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,673,273 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $21,100,000 after purchasing an additional 21,385 shares during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Virtus Dividend, Interest & Premium Strategy Fund during the first quarter worth about $6,757,000. Advisor OS LLC boosted its position in shares of Virtus Dividend, Interest & Premium Strategy Fund by 221.1% in the second quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 167,200 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $2,540,000 after buying an additional 115,128 shares during the period. Finally, Evolve Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Virtus Dividend, Interest & Premium Strategy Fund in the second quarter worth about $2,483,000.

About Virtus Dividend, Interest & Premium Strategy Fund

Virtus Dividend, Interest & Premium Strategy Fund is a diversified closed-end investment fund traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol NFJ. The fund seeks to provide current income and long-term capital appreciation through a portfolio of dividend-paying equity securities, convertible securities and interest-bearing investments.

As part of its premium-income strategy, the fund may write covered call options on selected portfolio holdings. This approach is designed to generate additional option-premium income while maintaining exposure to equity markets.