First Trust NASDAQ ABA Community Bank Index Fund (NASDAQ:QABA) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

First Trust NASDAQ ABA Community Bank Index Fund (NASDAQ:QABA - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 33,100 shares, a drop of 56.2% from the March 31st total of 75,500 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 60,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.6 days. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

First Trust NASDAQ ABA Community Bank Index Fund Stock Performance

QABA stock traded up $1.20 during trading on Friday, hitting $52.26. The stock had a trading volume of 10,369 shares, compared to its average volume of 58,580. First Trust NASDAQ ABA Community Bank Index Fund has a 1-year low of $42.97 and a 1-year high of $64.30. The stock has a market cap of $104.52 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.60 and a beta of 0.92. The company's 50 day moving average price is $51.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.35.

First Trust NASDAQ ABA Community Bank Index Fund Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 27th were paid a $0.3069 dividend. This represents a $1.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. This is a positive change from First Trust NASDAQ ABA Community Bank Index Fund's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 27th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of QABA. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in First Trust NASDAQ ABA Community Bank Index Fund by 79.2% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 151,165 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,398,000 after purchasing an additional 66,817 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its stake in shares of First Trust NASDAQ ABA Community Bank Index Fund by 178.2% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 109,794 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,099,000 after buying an additional 70,324 shares during the period. Lumbard & Kellner LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Trust NASDAQ ABA Community Bank Index Fund during the 1st quarter worth $3,017,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of First Trust NASDAQ ABA Community Bank Index Fund by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 45,452 shares of the company's stock worth $2,376,000 after buying an additional 1,470 shares during the period. Finally, Truist Financial Corp grew its position in First Trust NASDAQ ABA Community Bank Index Fund by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 36,604 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,033,000 after acquiring an additional 2,184 shares during the period.

First Trust NASDAQ ABA Community Bank Index Fund Company Profile

The First Trust NASDAQ ABA Community Bank Index Fund (QABA) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the NASDAQ OMX ABA Community Bank index. The fund tracks an index of NASDAQ-listed banks and thrifts, excluding the 50 largest. QABA was launched on Jun 29, 2009 and is managed by First Trust.