Liberty All-Star Growth Fund (NYSE:ASG) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest surged 166.5% to 38,996 shares as of August 31, up from 14,632 shares two weeks earlier. Still, only about 0.1% of ASG’s shares are sold short, representing 0.2 days of average trading volume.
• Institutional ownership stands at 21.62%, with firms including Ameriprise Financial and Osaic Holdings increasing their positions while several other institutions initiated new stakes.
• ASG shares opened at $5.04, within a 52-week range of $4.55 to $5.69. The fund raised its quarterly dividend to $0.12 per share, equivalent to a $0.48 annualized payout and a 9.5% yield.

Liberty All-Star Growth Fund (NYSE:ASG - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 38,996 shares, an increase of 166.5% from the August 15th total of 14,632 shares. Approximately 0.1% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 175,758 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.2 days.

Institutional Trading of Liberty All-Star Growth Fund

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Baird Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Liberty All-Star Growth Fund during the 1st quarter valued at $85,000. StoneX Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Liberty All-Star Growth Fund in the second quarter worth about $60,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Liberty All-Star Growth Fund by 8.6% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 94,529 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $517,000 after buying an additional 7,483 shares during the period. IHT Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Liberty All-Star Growth Fund during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Liberty All-Star Growth Fund by 70.2% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 94,934 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $519,000 after acquiring an additional 39,145 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 21.62% of the company's stock.

Liberty All-Star Growth Fund Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ASG opened at $5.04 on Friday. Liberty All-Star Growth Fund has a 1 year low of $4.55 and a 1 year high of $5.69. The stock's 50-day moving average is $5.25 and its 200 day moving average is $5.18.

Liberty All-Star Growth Fund Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 16th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.5%. This is a boost from Liberty All-Star Growth Fund's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 16th.

About Liberty All-Star Growth Fund

Liberty All-Star Growth Fund NYSE: ASG is a closed-end, diversified management investment company that seeks long-term capital appreciation through exposure to growth-oriented equities. The fund primarily invests in a portfolio of underlying mutual funds and exchange-traded funds managed by established sub-advisers, employing a multi-manager structure designed to capture opportunities across a range of market capitalizations and industry sectors.

Under normal market conditions, ASG allocates the majority of its assets to common stocks of companies it believes exhibit above-average growth potential.

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