iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF (NASDAQ:ESGU) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF (NASDAQ:ESGU) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 2,037,568 shares, a decline of 25.0% from the December 15th total of 2,716,227 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 769,362 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days. Approximately 2.0% of the company’s stock are short sold. Approximately 2.0% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 769,362 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days.

iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF Price Performance

Shares of ESGU stock traded down $0.13 during trading on Friday, reaching $150.77. The company had a trading volume of 207,074 shares, compared to its average volume of 503,843. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $149.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $144.65. iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF has a one year low of $105.18 and a one year high of $151.79. The company has a market capitalization of $15.85 billion, a PE ratio of 25.34 and a beta of 1.03.

iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.4554 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 16th. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ESGU. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in shares of iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its position in iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF by 63.0% during the second quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 269 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. United Financial Planning Group LLC bought a new stake in iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its position in iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF by 35.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 335 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter.

About iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF

The iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF (ESGU) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI USA Extended ESG Focus index. The fund tracks an index composed of US companies that are selected and weighted for positive environmental, social and governance characteristics. ESGU was launched on Dec 1, 2016 and is managed by BlackRock.