Blackrock Income Trust (NYSE:BKT) Shares Shorted: Short Interest Down 68.9% in September

Key Points

• Short interest fell 68.9% to 33,569 shares as of September 15, down from 107,967 shares at the end of August. Short interest represents 0.1% of shares outstanding, with a days-to-cover ratio of 0.3.
• BKT shares rose 0.3% to $9.56, near the lower end of their 12-month range of $9.49 to $11.34 and below both their 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• BlackRock Income Trust declared a monthly dividend of $0.0882 per share, equating to an annualized $1.06 payout and an 11.1% yield. Institutional investors own 39.43% of the fund.

Blackrock Income Trust (NYSE:BKT - Get Free Report) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totaling 33,569 shares, a decline of 68.9% from the August 31st total of 107,967 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 120,514 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.3 days. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Blackrock Income Trust Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE BKT traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $9.56. The company had a trading volume of 185,113 shares, compared to its average volume of 169,545. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $10.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.46. Blackrock Income Trust has a 12 month low of $9.49 and a 12 month high of $11.34.

Blackrock Income Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.0882 per share. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 11th.

Institutional Trading of Blackrock Income Trust

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Advocacy Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackrock Income Trust during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $59,361,000. Sit Investment Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Blackrock Income Trust by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. now owns 5,050,211 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,754,000 after purchasing an additional 435,016 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Solutions Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackrock Income Trust in the second quarter valued at $6,549,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Blackrock Income Trust in the second quarter worth $4,983,000. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Blackrock Income Trust in the second quarter worth $4,894,000. Institutional investors own 39.43% of the company's stock.

Blackrock Income Trust Company Profile

BlackRock Income Trust, Inc NYSE: BKT is a closed-end investment company managed by BlackRock Advisors, LLC. The fund seeks to provide a high level of current income by investing primarily in mortgage-related securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies.

BKT's portfolio may include mortgage-backed securities associated with programs and issuers such as the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), and Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac).

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