Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund Inc. (NYSE:PFO) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest plunged 84.3% to 5,907 shares as of April 15 (a short-interest ratio of about 0.3 days), signaling very low short activity in PFO.
• The fund declared a monthly dividend of $0.0556 per share payable July 31 (ex-dividend and record date July 24), implying a ~7.2% yield.
• Shares traded at about $9.30, near the 50‑day average and below the 200‑day average, with a one‑year range of $8.01–$9.90 and roughly 12.9% institutional ownership.

Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund Inc. (NYSE:PFO - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 5,907 shares, a decrease of 84.3% from the March 31st total of 37,723 shares. Approximately 0.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 18,568 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.3 days.

Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PFO traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $9.30. 24,860 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 27,652. The company's 50 day moving average is $9.29 and its 200 day moving average is $9.47. Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund has a one year low of $8.01 and a one year high of $9.90.

Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.0556 per share. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 24th.

Institutional Trading of Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of PFO. Webster Bank N. A. bought a new stake in shares of Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund during the 2nd quarter worth $49,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund during the 4th quarter worth $127,000. Guggenheim Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund during the 4th quarter worth $232,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 31,081 shares of the company's stock worth $287,000 after buying an additional 2,709 shares during the period. 12.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund

Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund NYSE: PFO is a closed-end management investment company designed to provide investors with a high level of current income. The fund focuses its portfolio primarily on preferred and participating securities, including traditional preferred shares, convertible preferred instruments, trust preferred issues and other hybrid securities issued by corporations and financial institutions.

Through broad diversification across industry sectors and geographies, PFO aims to manage credit and interest-rate risk while pursuing attractive yield opportunities.

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