Short Interest in John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund (NYSE:BTO) Drops By 84.5%

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund (NYSE:BTO) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 947 shares, a decline of 84.5% from the August 15th total of 6,127 shares. Currently, 0.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 33,538 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.0 days.

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BTO traded down $0.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $38.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 34,654 shares, compared to its average volume of 47,875. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $40.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.78. John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund has a 1-year low of $32.01 and a 1-year high of $42.00.

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.7%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 45,151 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,620,000 after buying an additional 1,311 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund by 3.3% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 267,804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,606,000 after buying an additional 8,443 shares during the period. FCA Corp TX increased its holdings in John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. FCA Corp TX now owns 88,984 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,192,000 after purchasing an additional 2,064 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund by 18.5% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 8,415 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 1,315 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp purchased a new position in John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund in the first quarter valued at $206,000. 19.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund (NYSE: BTO) is a closed-end management investment company sponsored by John Hancock Investment Management, a division of Manulife Investment Management. Since its inception in August 2004, the fund has sought to deliver total return through a combination of current income and capital appreciation. As a publicly traded fund, it offers investors access to a diversified portfolio of financial services companies that might otherwise require direct equity investments or specialized mandates.

The fund primarily invests in common stocks, preferred stocks and convertible securities issued by companies in the banking, insurance, brokerage and specialty finance sectors.