First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund (NASDAQ:GRID) Stock Short Interest Climbs 78.2%

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 78.2% to 247,455 shares as of October 15, though short positions represented only 0.4% of outstanding shares and 0.4 days of average trading volume.
• Several institutional investors increased or initiated positions, including Cetera Investment Advisers, Bank of America, Royal Bank of Canada, Ayalon Insurance and McKinley Carter Wealth Services.
• GRID shares recently traded at $164.51, below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages, while the quarterly dividend was reduced to $0.3534 per share, implying an annualized yield of approximately 0.9%.

First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund (NASDAQ:GRID - ) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totaling 247,455 shares, an increase of 78.2% from the September 30th total of 138,902 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 556,731 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.4 days. Currently, 0.4% of the company's shares are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of GRID. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund by 160.5% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 568,057 shares of the company's stock valued at $92,923,000 after buying an additional 349,964 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund by 19.1% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,121,584 shares of the company's stock worth $347,049,000 after purchasing an additional 340,826 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund by 62.1% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 441,118 shares of the company's stock valued at $72,158,000 after buying an additional 168,929 shares in the last quarter. Ayalon Insurance Comp Ltd. acquired a new stake in First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,534,000. Finally, McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund in the third quarter worth $14,945,000.

First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GRID traded down $5.83 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $164.51. 714,627 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 654,896. First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund has a 1 year low of $144.62 and a 1 year high of $199.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.47 and a beta of 1.26. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $176.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $178.39.

First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 24th were given a dividend of $0.3534 per share. This is a negative change from First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund's previous quarterly dividend of $0.7555. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 24th. This represents a $1.41 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%.

First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund Company Profile

First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund (the Fund) seeks investment results, which correspond to the price and yield (before the Fund's fees and expenses) of an equity index called the NASDAQ OMX Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index (the Index). The Fund focuses to invest at least 90% of its net assets in common stocks, which comprises the Index or in depositary receipts, which may include American depositary receipts (ADRs), global depositary receipts (GDRs), European depositary receipts (EDRs) or other depositary receipts (collectively Depositary Receipts) representing securities in the Index.

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