First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund (NASDAQ:FEM) Stock Short Interest Climbs 434.1%

Key Points

• Short interest surged 434.1% to 73,849 shares as of October 15, representing about 0.3% of FEM’s shares outstanding and a days-to-cover ratio of 0.8.
• FEM traded at $31.69, with a market capitalization of approximately $774.8 million and a 52-week trading range of $25.93 to $35.61.
• The fund increased its quarterly dividend to $0.2849, implying an annualized dividend of $1.14 and a 3.6% yield; several institutional investors also established or expanded positions during the third quarter.

First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund (NASDAQ:FEM - ) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totaling 73,849 shares, a growth of 434.1% from the September 30th total of 13,828 shares. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 90,473 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.8 days.

First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund Price Performance

NASDAQ FEM traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $31.69. 141,861 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 123,847. The company has a market capitalization of $774.82 million, a PE ratio of 9.20 and a beta of 0.62. First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund has a 52-week low of $25.93 and a 52-week high of $35.61. The firm's 50-day moving average is $32.81 and its 200-day moving average is $31.59.

First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 24th were given a $0.2849 dividend. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. This is a boost from First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund's previous quarterly dividend of $0.1899. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 24th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. purchased a new stake in First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,297,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund in the 3rd quarter worth $476,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund during the 3rd quarter worth $1,766,000. Wedbush Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund during the 3rd quarter worth $202,000. Finally, Novem Group raised its holdings in shares of First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Novem Group now owns 8,768 shares of the company's stock worth $282,000 after acquiring an additional 995 shares during the period.

First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund Company Profile

The First Trust Emerging Markets AlphaDEX Fund (FEM) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the NASDAQ AlphaDEX EM index. The fund tracks an index of emerging markets companies selected using a quantitative methodology and weighted in tiers. FEM was launched on Apr 18, 2011 and is managed by First Trust.

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.