Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSEARCA:XLU)

Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEARCA:XLU) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors bought 61,581 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 67% compared to the average volume of 36,961 put options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund by 106.2% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 15,178,321 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock worth $647,962,000 after purchasing an additional 7,817,477 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund by 97.5% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 3,022,842 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $129,045,000 after buying an additional 1,492,404 shares during the last quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund during the 1st quarter valued at $56,915,000. BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. purchased a new stake in Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund during the 4th quarter valued at $49,094,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 28,041,814 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $1,286,839,000 after buying an additional 1,055,742 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.06% of the company’s stock.

Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund Stock Performance

XLU stock opened at $41.10 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.24 billion, a PE ratio of 20.74 and a beta of 0.57. Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund has a one year low of $41.08 and a one year high of $47.80. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $43.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.91.

Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund Company Profile

Select Sector Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (the Fund), formerly Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund, seeks to provide investment results that correspond to the price and yield performance of the Utilities Select Sector of the S&P 500 Index (the Index). The Index includes companies from industries, such as electric utilities, multi-utilities, independent power producers and energy traders, and gas utilities. The Fund utilizes a passive or indexing investment approach to attempt to approximate the investment performance of the Index.