First Trust Mid Cap Core AlphaDEX Fund (NASDAQ:FNX) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest in FNX surged 81.1% to 29,161 shares as of July 31, representing 0.3% of shares outstanding and 2.7 days to cover based on average trading volume.
• Several institutional investors recently initiated or increased positions in FNX, including major percentage increases by Russell Investments Group and Parallel Advisors.
• FNX shares rose 0.4% to $147.91, near the 52-week high of $147.98, while the fund paid a quarterly dividend of $0.266, equivalent to an annualized yield of about 0.7%.

First Trust Mid Cap Core AlphaDEX Fund (NASDAQ:FNX - ) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 29,161 shares, a growth of 81.1% from the July 15th total of 16,102 shares. Currently, 0.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 10,904 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days.

Institutional Trading of First Trust Mid Cap Core AlphaDEX Fund

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FNX. Ascentis Independent Advisors purchased a new stake in First Trust Mid Cap Core AlphaDEX Fund during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of First Trust Mid Cap Core AlphaDEX Fund by 5,077.8% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 466 shares of the company's stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 457 shares during the period. MidFirst Bank purchased a new position in shares of First Trust Mid Cap Core AlphaDEX Fund in the fourth quarter worth about $92,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Trust Mid Cap Core AlphaDEX Fund by 942.6% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,053 shares of the company's stock valued at $135,000 after acquiring an additional 952 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in First Trust Mid Cap Core AlphaDEX Fund during the 3rd quarter valued at about $136,000.

First Trust Mid Cap Core AlphaDEX Fund Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of FNX traded up $0.64 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $147.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,579 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,993. The stock has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a PE ratio of 14.19 and a beta of 1.06. First Trust Mid Cap Core AlphaDEX Fund has a 52 week low of $117.48 and a 52 week high of $147.98. The company's fifty day moving average price is $143.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $137.94.

First Trust Mid Cap Core AlphaDEX Fund Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 25th were given a $0.266 dividend. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 25th.

About First Trust Mid Cap Core AlphaDEX Fund

The First Trust Mid Cap Core AlphaDEX Fund (FNX) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the NASDAQ AlphaDEX Mid Cap Core index. The fund tracks a tiered equal-weighted index of US mid-cap equities selected using both growth and value screens. FNX was launched on May 8, 2007 and is managed by First Trust.

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