First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund (NASDAQ:FEM) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest for the First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund rose by 76.8% in September, reaching a total of 158,200 shares.
• Several institutional investors increased their stakes in the fund, with Bank of America Corp DE now owning over 1 million shares valued at approximately $25.9 million.
• The fund recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.2827, resulting in an annualized yield of 4.2%.

First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund (NASDAQ:FEM - ) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totaling 158,200 shares, a growth of 76.8% from the August 31st total of 89,500 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 45,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days. Based on an average trading volume of 45,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund by 10.7% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 85,219 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,080,000 after buying an additional 8,271 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund by 26.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,930 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 408 shares during the last quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. now owns 9,953 shares of the company's stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in shares of First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund by 19.5% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 63,643 shares of the company's stock worth $1,563,000 after purchasing an additional 10,384 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,054,665 shares of the company's stock worth $25,903,000 after purchasing an additional 29,240 shares during the last quarter.

First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FEM traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $27.06. 20,367 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 60,619. The company has a market capitalization of $468.14 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.20 and a beta of 0.85. First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund has a 12 month low of $19.74 and a 12 month high of $28.88. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.51.

First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 25th were paid a $0.2827 dividend. This represents a $1.13 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 25th.

First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund Company Profile

The First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund (FEM) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the NASDAQ AlphaDEX EM index. The fund tracks an index of emerging markets companies selected using a quantitative methodology and weighted in tiers. FEM was launched on Apr 18, 2011 and is managed by First Trust.

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