First Trust Asia Pacific ex-Japan AlphaDEX Fund (NASDAQ:FPA) Stock Short Interest Rises 632.3%

Key Points

• Short interest surged 632.3% to 42,884 shares as of September 30, representing approximately 1.8% of FPA’s outstanding shares and 1.8 days of average trading volume.
• Several institutional investors increased their positions, including RPg Family Wealth Advisory and Risk Paradigm Group, which each raised holdings by roughly 74%; Compass Financial Management also initiated a new stake.
• FPA shares opened at $48.64, while the fund increased its quarterly dividend to $0.3666 per share, equivalent to an annualized $1.47 payout and a 3.0% yield.

First Trust Asia Pacific ex-Japan AlphaDEX Fund (NASDAQ:FPA - ) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 42,884 shares, an increase of 632.3% from the September 15th total of 5,856 shares. Approximately 1.8% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 24,449 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Trust Asia Pacific ex-Japan AlphaDEX Fund

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FPA. Rathbones Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Trust Asia Pacific ex-Japan AlphaDEX Fund by 14.5% during the first quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 42,208 shares of the company's stock worth $1,835,000 after purchasing an additional 5,339 shares during the period. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC increased its stake in First Trust Asia Pacific ex-Japan AlphaDEX Fund by 74.2% in the 2nd quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 33,266 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,832,000 after buying an additional 14,170 shares during the period. Risk Paradigm Group LLC lifted its position in First Trust Asia Pacific ex-Japan AlphaDEX Fund by 74.6% in the 2nd quarter. Risk Paradigm Group LLC now owns 31,790 shares of the company's stock worth $1,751,000 after buying an additional 13,578 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Compass Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in First Trust Asia Pacific ex-Japan AlphaDEX Fund in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $319,000.

First Trust Asia Pacific ex-Japan AlphaDEX Fund Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of FPA stock opened at $48.64 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $116.74 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.39 and a beta of 1.09. First Trust Asia Pacific ex-Japan AlphaDEX Fund has a 1-year low of $36.23 and a 1-year high of $58.89. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $49.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.92.

First Trust Asia Pacific ex-Japan AlphaDEX Fund Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 24th were given a dividend of $0.3666 per share. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 24th. This is a boost from First Trust Asia Pacific ex-Japan AlphaDEX Fund's previous quarterly dividend of $0.1513.

About First Trust Asia Pacific ex-Japan AlphaDEX Fund

The First Trust Asia Pacific Ex-Japan AlphaDEX Fund (FPA) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in total market equity. The fund selects and weights 100 stocks from the S&P Asia Pacific Ex-Japan BMI Index based on their growth and value factors. FPA was launched on Apr 18, 2011 and is managed by First Trust.

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