First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund (NASDAQ:FEM) Short Interest Up 218.4% in February

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 218.4% in February to 116,967 shares, representing about 0.6% of the stock and a days-to-cover ratio of 0.9 days.
• Shares opened at $30.16 with a market cap of $547.4 million, a P/E of 9.2, and a 1‑year range of $19.74–$32.98.
• Several institutions added new stakes in Q4, including VestGen Advisors which established a roughly $1.20 million position.

First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund (NASDAQ:FEM - ) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 116,967 shares, a growth of 218.4% from the February 12th total of 36,733 shares. Currently, 0.6% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 132,111 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.9 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 132,111 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.9 days. Currently, 0.6% of the company's stock are short sold.

First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FEM opened at $30.16 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $29.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.90. The company has a market capitalization of $547.40 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.20 and a beta of 0.64. First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund has a 1 year low of $19.74 and a 1 year high of $32.98.

First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th were paid a $0.2092 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 12th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of FEM. MidFirst Bank acquired a new stake in First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund in the fourth quarter valued at about $63,000. Van Diest Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund in the fourth quarter valued at $227,000. Crusonia Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund during the 4th quarter worth $767,000. Pacific Excel Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund in the 4th quarter worth about $407,000. Finally, VestGen Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,196,000.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.