First Trust Large Cap Value AlphaDEX Fund (NASDAQ:FTA) Shares Shorted: Short Interest Up 963.9% in September

Key Points

• Short interest surged 963.9% in September to 26,140 shares, although only about 0.2% of FTA’s shares were sold short and the days-to-cover ratio remained low at 0.8 days.
• FTA shares traded at $97.46, below their 50-day moving average of $100.77 but near the 200-day average of $97.42; the ETF’s 12-month range was $81.12 to $104.95.
• The fund increased its quarterly dividend to $0.5259 from $0.3389, implying an annualized payout of $2.10 and a 2.2% yield, while several institutional investors added to or initiated positions.

First Trust Large Cap Value AlphaDEX Fund (NASDAQ:FTA - ) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 26,140 shares, a growth of 963.9% from the September 15th total of 2,457 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 30,778 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.8 days. Approximately 0.2% of the company's shares are sold short.

First Trust Large Cap Value AlphaDEX Fund Price Performance

First Trust Large Cap Value AlphaDEX Fund stock traded down $0.35 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $97.46. The stock had a trading volume of 79,188 shares, compared to its average volume of 34,692. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $100.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $97.42. First Trust Large Cap Value AlphaDEX Fund has a twelve month low of $81.12 and a twelve month high of $104.95. The firm has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.54 and a beta of 0.80.

First Trust Large Cap Value AlphaDEX Fund Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 24th were issued a $0.5259 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 24th. This is an increase from First Trust Large Cap Value AlphaDEX Fund's previous quarterly dividend of $0.3389. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Main Street Group LTD purchased a new position in First Trust Large Cap Value AlphaDEX Fund during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Independent Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Trust Large Cap Value AlphaDEX Fund in the first quarter worth approximately $823,000. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Trust Large Cap Value AlphaDEX Fund by 4.9% during the first quarter. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC now owns 9,150 shares of the company's stock worth $845,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp grew its position in First Trust Large Cap Value AlphaDEX Fund by 11.4% during the first quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 5,830 shares of the company's stock valued at $538,000 after purchasing an additional 595 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HBW Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in First Trust Large Cap Value AlphaDEX Fund by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,178 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,402,000 after buying an additional 271 shares during the period.

About First Trust Large Cap Value AlphaDEX Fund

The First Trust Large Cap Value AlphaDEX Fund (FTA) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the NASDAQ AlphaDEX Large Cap Value index. The fund selects and weights value stocks using fundamental factors including sales, book value and cash flows. FTA was launched on May 8, 2007 and is managed by First Trust.

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