John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund (NYSE:BTO) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest surged 277.4% to 11,963 shares as of July 31, up from 3,170 shares on July 15. Despite the increase, only 0.1% of shares are sold short, with a days-to-cover ratio of 0.2.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds recently established new positions in BTO, and such investors collectively own 19.55% of the fund’s shares.
• BTO opened at $41.05, near its 12-month high of $42.00, and recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, equal to an annualized 6.3% yield.

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund (NYSE:BTO - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 11,963 shares, a growth of 277.4% from the July 15th total of 3,170 shares. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 51,191 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.2 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BTO. Farther Finance Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund in the fourth quarter worth about $57,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund during the 3rd quarter worth about $102,000. Fifth Third Bancorp acquired a new position in shares of John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund during the 1st quarter worth about $206,000. Finally, Creative Planning bought a new stake in John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $237,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.55% of the company's stock.

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund Price Performance

NYSE:BTO opened at $41.05 on Thursday. John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund has a 12 month low of $32.01 and a 12 month high of $42.00. The company's 50 day moving average is $39.30 and its 200-day moving average is $37.52.

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th were paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 11th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.3%.

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund Company Profile

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund NYSE: BTO is a closed-end management investment company sponsored by John Hancock Investment Management, a division of Manulife Investment Management. Since its inception in August 2004, the fund has sought to deliver total return through a combination of current income and capital appreciation. As a publicly traded fund, it offers investors access to a diversified portfolio of financial services companies that might otherwise require direct equity investments or specialized mandates.

The fund primarily invests in common stocks, preferred stocks and convertible securities issued by companies in the banking, insurance, brokerage and specialty finance sectors.

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