iShares U.S. Small Cap Equity Factor ETF (NYSEARCA:SMLF) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

iShares U.S. Small Cap Equity Factor ETF (NYSEARCA:SMLF) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totaling 381,633 shares, a growth of 111.8% from the September 30th total of 180,225 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 243,689 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days. Currently, 0.8% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On iShares U.S. Small Cap Equity Factor ETF

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its stake in shares of iShares U.S. Small Cap Equity Factor ETF by 1.7% during the first quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 10,359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $782,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its stake in shares of iShares U.S. Small Cap Equity Factor ETF by 4.9% in the first quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 3,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $283,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the period. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. purchased a new position in shares of iShares U.S. Small Cap Equity Factor ETF in the first quarter worth $25,000. Triumph Capital Management raised its holdings in iShares U.S. Small Cap Equity Factor ETF by 138.8% during the 2nd quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Wealth Strategies LLC raised its holdings in iShares U.S. Small Cap Equity Factor ETF by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Dynamic Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 22,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,684,000 after buying an additional 361 shares during the last quarter.

iShares U.S. Small Cap Equity Factor ETF Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of SMLF traded down $1.44 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $85.29. The company had a trading volume of 240,056 shares, compared to its average volume of 214,565. iShares U.S. Small Cap Equity Factor ETF has a 52-week low of $70.00 and a 52-week high of $90.74. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $85.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $83.26. The firm has a market cap of $4.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.17 and a beta of 1.09.

iShares U.S. Small Cap Equity Factor ETF Company Profile

The iShares MSCI USA Small-Cap Multifactor ETF (SMLF) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the STOXX U.S. SmallCap Equity Factor index. The fund tracks an index of small-cap US equities. Stocks are selected and weighted to increase exposure to four factors (quality, value, momentum, and low volatility). SMLF was launched on Apr 28, 2015 and is managed by BlackRock.