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

Key Points

• Short interest in PFO fell sharply in June, dropping 57.1% to 8,083 shares as of June 30 from 18,848 shares on June 15. That leaves just 0.1% of shares sold short, with a short-interest ratio of 0.5 days.
• Institutional ownership activity remained active, with several firms adding or starting positions, including CIBC Bancorp USA and Pathstone Holdings. Hedge funds and other institutional investors now own about 12.9% of the stock.
• The fund announced a monthly dividend of $0.0556 per share, payable July 31 to shareholders of record on July 24. The dividend implies an annualized yield of 7.2%.

Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund Inc. (NYSE:PFO - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 8,083 shares, a decline of 57.1% from the June 15th total of 18,848 shares. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 16,320 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.5 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PFO. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund in the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,738,000. Pathstone Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund in the third quarter worth approximately $3,073,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund by 228.6% in the fourth quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 309,687 shares of the company's stock worth $2,927,000 after buying an additional 215,441 shares during the period. Closed End Fund Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund during the 4th quarter valued at $909,000. Finally, Sit Investment Associates Inc. raised its holdings in Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. now owns 1,328,546 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,555,000 after buying an additional 73,704 shares during the last quarter. 12.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund Price Performance

NYSE:PFO traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $9.22. 14,748 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 29,491. Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund has a 52 week low of $8.85 and a 52 week high of $9.90. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $9.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.32.

Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund Dividend Announcement

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

Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund Company Profile

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.

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.