Virtus Total Return Fund Inc. (NYSE:ZTR) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Virtus Total Return Fund Inc. (NYSE:ZTR) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of May. As of May 29th, there was short interest totaling 21,888 shares, an increase of 61.4% from the May 14th total of 13,565 shares. Currently, 0.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 135,655 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.2 days.

Virtus Total Return Fund Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:ZTR opened at $6.69 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $6.75 and its 200-day moving average is $6.63. Virtus Total Return Fund has a 52-week low of $5.97 and a 52-week high of $7.11.

Virtus Total Return Fund Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 13th will be paid a $0.055 dividend. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 13th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virtus Total Return Fund

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ZTR. Saba Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Virtus Total Return Fund in the first quarter valued at about $7,512,000. Alpine Global Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Virtus Total Return Fund in the third quarter valued at about $4,064,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Virtus Total Return Fund in the fourth quarter valued at about $822,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Virtus Total Return Fund by 99.8% in the first quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 226,800 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $1,501,000 after buying an additional 113,300 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Virtus Total Return Fund by 33.9% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 338,441 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $2,108,000 after buying an additional 85,767 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 47.14% of the company’s stock.

About Virtus Total Return Fund

Virtus Total Return Fund, Inc (NYSE: ZTR) is a closed-end management investment company that seeks to provide investors with high total return with moderate income. The fund, which began operations in 2005, trades on the New York Stock Exchange and is sponsored by Virtus Investment Partners. ZTR offers investors access to a diversified mix of fixed-income and equity opportunities within a single vehicle.

To pursue its stated objective, the fund typically allocates across a broad range of asset classes, including corporate debt securities, high-yield bonds, convertible securities, preferred stocks, common stocks and real estate investment trusts (REITs).