First Trust Dividend Strength ETF (NASDAQ:FTDS) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

First Trust Dividend Strength ETF (NASDAQ:FTDS) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 4,040 shares, a growth of 72.6% from the January 29th total of 2,340 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,837 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days. Approximately 0.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Approximately 0.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,837 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days.

First Trust Dividend Strength ETF Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FTDS opened at $62.42 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $31.21 million, a PE ratio of 14.53 and a beta of 0.96. First Trust Dividend Strength ETF has a 1 year low of $44.26 and a 1 year high of $63.06. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $59.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.98.

First Trust Dividend Strength ETF Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th were issued a dividend of $0.2484 per share. This is a boost from First Trust Dividend Strength ETF’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Trust Dividend Strength ETF

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FTDS. CreativeOne Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Trust Dividend Strength ETF during the third quarter worth about $543,000. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in First Trust Dividend Strength ETF by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 138,676 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,834,000 after purchasing an additional 7,495 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC purchased a new stake in First Trust Dividend Strength ETF during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $305,000. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in First Trust Dividend Strength ETF during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $230,000. Finally, Truist Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of First Trust Dividend Strength ETF during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $220,000.

About First Trust Dividend Strength ETF

The First Trust Dividend Strength ETF (FTDS) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the The Dividend Strength index. The fund tracks an index of approximately 50 US stocks or REITs considered to be well-capitalized and have a history of increasing their dividends. Holdings are selected based on fundamental criteria and equally-weighted within the portfolio. FTDS was launched on Dec 6, 2006 and is managed by First Trust.