First Trust Dividend Strength ETF (NASDAQ:FTDS) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

First Trust Dividend Strength ETF (NASDAQ:FTDS) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 7,254 shares, an increase of 183.0% from the December 15th total of 2,563 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,540 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,540 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Trust Dividend Strength ETF

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of First Trust Dividend Strength ETF by 23.0% in the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 1,435 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its position in First Trust Dividend Strength ETF by 40.7% during the 2nd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 495 shares during the period. Susquehanna International Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of First Trust Dividend Strength ETF by 41.0% during the third quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 13,222 shares of the company’s stock worth $735,000 after buying an additional 3,844 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Trust Dividend Strength ETF in the third quarter valued at about $543,000.

First Trust Dividend Strength ETF Trading Down 0.2%

FTDS opened at $58.72 on Wednesday. First Trust Dividend Strength ETF has a 1-year low of $44.26 and a 1-year high of $59.28. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $56.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.23. The stock has a market cap of $29.36 million, a PE ratio of 14.53 and a beta of 0.96.

First Trust Dividend Strength ETF Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 12th were paid a $0.2484 dividend. This is an increase from First Trust Dividend Strength ETF’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%.

About First Trust Dividend Strength ETF

The First Trust Dividend Strength ETF (FTDS) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the The Dividend Strength index. The fund tracks an index of approximately 50 US stocks or REITs considered to be well-capitalized and have a history of increasing their dividends. Holdings are selected based on fundamental criteria and equally-weighted within the portfolio. FTDS was launched on Dec 6, 2006 and is managed by First Trust.