Liberty All-Star Equity Fund (NYSE:USA) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest surged 585.3% to 248,198 shares as of July 31, up from 36,220 shares two weeks earlier. Short interest represents 0.1% of outstanding shares, with a short-interest ratio of 0.2 days.
• Institutional ownership stands at 9.95%, with Royal Bank of Canada, Cetera Investment Advisers, PNC Financial Services and NewEdge Advisors among firms increasing their positions.
• Liberty All-Star Equity Fund shares recently traded around $6.05, while the fund raised its quarterly dividend to $0.17 per share, implying an annualized dividend of $0.68 and an 11.2% yield.

Liberty All-Star Equity Fund (NYSE:USA - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 248,198 shares, an increase of 585.3% from the July 15th total of 36,220 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,501,656 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.2 days. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Investmark Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Liberty All-Star Equity Fund during the second quarter worth about $62,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Liberty All-Star Equity Fund by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 177,215 shares of the closed-end fund's stock valued at $984,000 after acquiring an additional 3,281 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Liberty All-Star Equity Fund by 15.0% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,271,108 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $12,604,000 after purchasing an additional 296,607 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in Liberty All-Star Equity Fund by 13.4% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 557,956 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $3,097,000 after buying an additional 66,002 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Liberty All-Star Equity Fund by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 437,776 shares of the closed-end fund's stock worth $2,430,000 after purchasing an additional 23,626 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 9.95% of the company's stock.

Liberty All-Star Equity Fund Stock Performance

Shares of USA traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $6.05. The stock had a trading volume of 666,862 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,280,289. Liberty All-Star Equity Fund has a 12 month low of $5.40 and a 12 month high of $6.65. The business has a fifty day moving average of $5.82 and a 200 day moving average of $5.83.

Liberty All-Star Equity Fund Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This is a positive change from Liberty All-Star Equity Fund's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 16th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.2%.

Liberty All-Star Equity Fund Company Profile

Liberty All-Star Equity Fund NYSE: USA is a closed-end management investment company that seeks long-term capital appreciation through an actively managed portfolio of equity securities. Listed on the New York Stock Exchange since its inception, the fund offers investors access to both U.S. and international markets within a single vehicle. It is designed to appeal to those seeking a diversified equity strategy combined with the liquidity of an exchange-traded security.

The fund’s investment approach centers on a diversified mix of common stocks and American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), spanning large-cap, mid-cap and small-cap issuers.

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