First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund (NASDAQ:GRID) Stock Short Interest Falls 41.6%

Key Points

• Short interest fell 41.6% to 232,863 shares as of September 15, from 398,512 shares on August 31. GRID’s days-to-cover ratio was 0.4, with short interest representing about 0.3% of shares outstanding.
• GRID shares traded down $1.16 to $177.11, below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages of $180.13 and $182.23, respectively. The fund’s 52-week range was $144.62 to $199.99.
• The fund declared a quarterly dividend of $0.3534, equivalent to $1.41 annually and a 0.8% yield—down from the prior quarterly payout of $0.7555. Several institutional investors modestly increased their positions.

First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund (NASDAQ:GRID - ) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totaling 232,863 shares, a drop of 41.6% from the August 31st total of 398,512 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 543,627 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.4 days. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

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

Shares of NASDAQ:GRID traded down $1.16 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $177.11. 335,405 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 658,486. 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 company has a market capitalization of $11.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.47 and a beta of 1.26. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $180.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $182.23.

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

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 24th will be given a $0.3534 dividend. This represents a $1.41 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. This is a decrease 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 is Thursday, September 24th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Richmond Investment Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Richmond Investment Services LLC now owns 3,502 shares of the company's stock worth $573,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Sovran Advisors LLC raised its position in First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund by 1.3% in the first quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC now owns 6,972 shares of the company's stock worth $1,140,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC raised its position in First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund by 2.9% in the second quarter. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC now owns 3,329 shares of the company's stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. CI Investments Inc. lifted its stake in First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund by 3.4% during the first quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 3,077 shares of the company's stock worth $503,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC lifted its stake in First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund by 1.8% during the second quarter. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC now owns 6,164 shares of the company's stock worth $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period.

About First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund

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.

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.