John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund (NYSE:BTO) Stock Short Interest Report for October

Key Points

• Short interest fell sharply: Shares sold short declined 56.8% to 3,353 as of October 15, representing about 0.0% of shares outstanding and a short-interest ratio of 0.1 days.
• Shares traded at $37.22, below the 50-day and 200-day moving averages, while remaining within a 52-week range of $32.01 to $42.00.
• The fund paid a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, equivalent to $2.60 annually and a 7.0% yield; institutional investors owned 19.55% of the stock.

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund (NYSE:BTO - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,353 shares, a decline of 56.8% from the September 30th total of 7,757 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 47,860 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.1 days. Approximately 0.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund Price Performance

NYSE:BTO traded down $0.31 on Friday, reaching $37.22. 22,483 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 46,683. John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund has a 52 week low of $32.01 and a 52 week high of $42.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.59.

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 11th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund by 3.0% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 45,151 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,620,000 after acquiring an additional 1,311 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund by 3.3% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 267,804 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,606,000 after purchasing an additional 8,443 shares in the last quarter. FCA Corp TX grew its position in shares of John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund by 2.4% in the first quarter. FCA Corp TX now owns 88,984 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,192,000 after purchasing an additional 2,064 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in shares of John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund by 18.5% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 8,415 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 1,315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new stake in shares of John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund during the 1st quarter valued at $206,000. 19.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund NYSE: BTO is a closed-end investment company that seeks to provide investors with a high level of current income and long-term capital appreciation. The fund focuses primarily on the financial services sector.

Its portfolio may include common stocks, preferred securities and debt investments issued by companies such as banks, insurers, asset managers, brokerages, specialty finance firms and other financial institutions. The fund may also invest across different areas of the financial industry and geographic markets as its investment team identifies opportunities.

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund is advised by John Hancock Investment Management, the asset-management business associated with Manulife Investment Management.

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