BlackRock Debt Strategies Fund, Inc. (NYSE:DSU) was the target of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 112,000 shares, an increase of 81.5% from the December 15th total of 61,700 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 152,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.7 days.

Shares of NYSE DSU opened at $10.49 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.97. BlackRock Debt Strategies Fund has a 52-week low of $5.92 and a 52-week high of $11.50.

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 31st were given a $0.0605 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 30th. This represents a $0.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.92%.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DSU. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BlackRock Debt Strategies Fund by 5.0% during the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 78,592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $781,000 after purchasing an additional 3,722 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in BlackRock Debt Strategies Fund by 78.7% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 250,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,334,000 after purchasing an additional 110,171 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in BlackRock Debt Strategies Fund by 4.8% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,841,940 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,249,000 after buying an additional 130,489 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock Debt Strategies Fund by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 42,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $424,000 after buying an additional 2,273 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock Debt Strategies Fund during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $395,000. 21.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BlackRock Debt Strategies Fund Company Profile

BlackRock Debt Strategies Fund, Inc is a closed ended fixed income mutual fund launched by BlackRock, Inc The fund is managed by BlackRock Advisors, LLC. It invests in fixed income markets of the United States. The fund primarily invests in a diversified portfolio of companies' debt instruments, including corporate loans, which are rated in the lower rating categories of the established rating services (BBB or lower by S&P's or Baa or lower by Moody's) or unrated debt instruments, which are in the judgment of the investment adviser of equivalent quality.

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