First Trust Europe AlphaDEX Fund (NASDAQ:FEP) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest plunged 91.6% in March to 6,193 shares (about 0.1% of shares outstanding), leaving a short-interest ratio of just 0.2 days based on average daily volume.
• The fund recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.0762 (annualized $0.30, yield 0.5%), while its dividend payout ratio is -265.15%, reflecting negative earnings.
• Shares traded at $57.83 with a market cap of about $517.6M and a negative P/E of -87.62; the 52‑week range is $38.72–$59.39.

First Trust Europe AlphaDEX Fund (NASDAQ:FEP - ) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 6,193 shares, a drop of 91.6% from the March 15th total of 74,152 shares. Approximately 0.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 28,361 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.2 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Trust Europe AlphaDEX Fund

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in First Trust Europe AlphaDEX Fund by 305.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 474 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional purchased a new position in First Trust Europe AlphaDEX Fund during the third quarter valued at $51,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in First Trust Europe AlphaDEX Fund during the second quarter valued at $51,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new position in First Trust Europe AlphaDEX Fund during the fourth quarter valued at $61,000. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC grew its stake in First Trust Europe AlphaDEX Fund by 32.5% during the third quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 1,257 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares in the last quarter.

First Trust Europe AlphaDEX Fund Price Performance

Shares of FEP stock traded up $0.15 on Friday, hitting $57.83. 36,478 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 43,420. The firm has a market cap of $517.58 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -87.62 and a beta of 0.92. First Trust Europe AlphaDEX Fund has a 52 week low of $38.72 and a 52 week high of $59.39. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.82.

First Trust Europe AlphaDEX Fund Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 26th were given a dividend of $0.0762 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 26th. First Trust Europe AlphaDEX Fund's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -265.15%.

First Trust Europe AlphaDEX Fund Company Profile

The First Trust Europe AlphaDEX Fund (FEP) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the NASDAQ AlphaDEX Europe index. The fund tracks a tiered equal-weighted index of 200 companies selected from the S&P Europe BMI based on the S&P's AlphaDex selection methodology. FEP was launched on Apr 18, 2011 and is managed by First Trust.

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