John Hancock Income Securities Trust (NYSE:JHS) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

John Hancock Income Securities Trust (NYSE:JHS) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 7,718 shares, a growth of 77.2% from the March 31st total of 4,356 shares. Approximately 0.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 8,017 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.0 days.

John Hancock Income Securities Trust Price Performance

JHS opened at $11.17 on Wednesday. John Hancock Income Securities Trust has a 12-month low of $10.74 and a 12-month high of $12.09. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $11.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.50.

John Hancock Income Securities Trust Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 12th were given a dividend of $0.1377 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $0.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On John Hancock Income Securities Trust

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of JHS. Riverbridge Partners LLC raised its position in John Hancock Income Securities Trust by 158.3% during the 4th quarter. Riverbridge Partners LLC now owns 193,055 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,261,000 after buying an additional 118,311 shares during the last quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC raised its position in John Hancock Income Securities Trust by 60.1% during the 4th quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 131,547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,540,000 after buying an additional 49,377 shares during the last quarter. 1607 Capital Partners LLC raised its position in John Hancock Income Securities Trust by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. 1607 Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,294,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,110,000 after buying an additional 28,770 shares during the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp raised its position in John Hancock Income Securities Trust by 35.7% during the 4th quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 105,878 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,240,000 after buying an additional 27,841 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in John Hancock Income Securities Trust by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,489,005 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,384,000 after buying an additional 16,747 shares during the last quarter.

John Hancock Income Securities Trust Company Profile

John Hancock Income Securities Trust (NYSE: JHS) is a diversified, closed-end management investment company that seeks to provide shareholders with high current income while preserving capital. Trading on the New York Stock Exchange since its launch in the late 1970s, the trust offers investors access to a broad portfolio of fixed-income securities under a professional management structure.

The fund’s primary investment activities include purchasing U.S. government and agency obligations, investment-grade corporate debt, mortgage- and asset-backed securities, preferred stocks, and selected foreign debt instruments.