First Trust Dividend Strength ETF (NASDAQ:FTDS) Short Interest Up 48.0% in March

First Trust Dividend Strength ETF (NASDAQ:FTDS) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 4,325 shares, an increase of 48.0% from the February 26th total of 2,922 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 633 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.8 days. Currently, 0.9% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Institutional Trading of First Trust Dividend Strength ETF

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FTDS. AE Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Trust Dividend Strength ETF by 20.1% during the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,203 shares of the company’s stock worth $512,000 after purchasing an additional 1,541 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Trust Dividend Strength ETF in the 3rd quarter valued at about $543,000. Susquehanna International Group LLP grew its position in shares of First Trust Dividend Strength ETF by 41.0% during the 3rd quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 13,222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $735,000 after buying an additional 3,844 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in shares of First Trust Dividend Strength ETF by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 138,676 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,834,000 after buying an additional 7,495 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new stake in First Trust Dividend Strength ETF during the fourth quarter worth about $169,000.

First Trust Dividend Strength ETF Trading Down 0.8%

NASDAQ FTDS traded down $0.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $59.93. 946 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,325. First Trust Dividend Strength ETF has a 1-year low of $44.26 and a 1-year high of $63.06. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.67. The company has a market cap of $29.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.53 and a beta of 0.96.

First Trust Dividend Strength ETF Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.3109 per share. This is an increase from First Trust Dividend Strength ETF’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 26th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%.

First Trust Dividend Strength ETF Company Profile

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.