First Trust Multi Cap Growth AlphaDEX Fund (NASDAQ:FAD) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest surged 162.6% to 39,594 shares as of August 31, representing 1.3% of FAD’s outstanding shares and a short-interest ratio of 4.0 days.
• FAD shares opened at $182.10, compared with a 12-month range of $150.01 to $200.22; the fund has a $564.51 million market capitalization and a beta of 1.16.
• The fund increased its quarterly dividend to $0.0711, equivalent to approximately $0.28 annually and a 0.2% yield, while several major institutional investors expanded their holdings.

First Trust Multi Cap Growth AlphaDEX Fund (NASDAQ:FAD - ) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 39,594 shares, an increase of 162.6% from the August 15th total of 15,079 shares. Currently, 1.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 9,994 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.0 days.

First Trust Multi Cap Growth AlphaDEX Fund Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:FAD opened at $182.10 on Friday. First Trust Multi Cap Growth AlphaDEX Fund has a 12-month low of $150.01 and a 12-month high of $200.22. The company has a market capitalization of $564.51 million, a PE ratio of 25.26 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a 50 day moving average of $187.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $180.34.

First Trust Multi Cap Growth AlphaDEX Fund Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 25th were paid a $0.0711 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 25th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. This is an increase from First Trust Multi Cap Growth AlphaDEX Fund's previous quarterly dividend of $0.02.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of FAD. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in shares of First Trust Multi Cap Growth AlphaDEX Fund by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 136,980 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,171,000 after purchasing an additional 6,702 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Trust Multi Cap Growth AlphaDEX Fund by 62.5% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 134,552 shares of the company's stock worth $19,755,000 after buying an additional 51,752 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of First Trust Multi Cap Growth AlphaDEX Fund by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 48,706 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,883,000 after buying an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in First Trust Multi Cap Growth AlphaDEX Fund by 37.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 41,501 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,595,000 after acquiring an additional 11,276 shares during the period. Finally, Susquehanna International Group LLP raised its position in First Trust Multi Cap Growth AlphaDEX Fund by 16.8% during the third quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 35,426 shares of the company's stock worth $5,688,000 after acquiring an additional 5,105 shares during the period.

First Trust Multi Cap Growth AlphaDEX Fund Company Profile

First Trust Multi Cap Growth AlphaDEX Fund (the Fund) is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield of an equity index called the Defined Multi Cap Growth Index (the Index). The Index is an enhanced index created and administered by Standard & Poor's, which selects stocks from the S&P Composite 1500/Citigroup Growth Index. Standard & Poor's constructs the Index by employing the AlphaDEX stock selection methodology to rank the stocks from the three component indices that comprise the S&P Composite 1500/Citigroup Growth Index, which are the S&P 500/Citigroup Growth Index, the S&P MidCap 400/Citigroup Growth Index and the S&P SmallCap 600/Citigroup Growth Index.

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