Short Interest in Blackrock Income Trust (NYSE:BKT) Expands By 23.9%

Key Points

• Short interest in BlackRock Income Trust rose 23.9% to 136,811 shares as of March 31, equal to about 0.4% of shares outstanding and a days-to-cover ratio of 1.1 based on average volume.
• The fund declared a monthly dividend of $0.0882 payable June 30 (ex‑dividend and record date June 15), which implies an annualized yield of roughly 9.9%.
• Institutions own about 39.43% of the trust, with large fourth‑quarter activity including Rivernorth’s $9.46M purchase and Guggenheim boosting its stake, indicating notable institutional interest.

Blackrock Income Trust (NYSE:BKT - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 136,811 shares, a growth of 23.9% from the March 15th total of 110,394 shares. Approximately 0.4% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 126,021 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.1 days.

Blackrock Income Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BKT traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $10.70. The company had a trading volume of 84,447 shares, compared to its average volume of 123,429. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $10.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.03. Blackrock Income Trust has a one year low of $10.42 and a one year high of $11.86.

Blackrock Income Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.0882 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 9.9%.

Institutional Trading of Blackrock Income Trust

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sankala Group LLC purchased a new position in Blackrock Income Trust during the 4th quarter worth $46,000. Readystate Asset Management LP purchased a new position in Blackrock Income Trust during the 4th quarter worth $173,000. Rivernorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Blackrock Income Trust during the 4th quarter worth $9,462,000. Guggenheim Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Blackrock Income Trust by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 1,239,012 shares of the company's stock worth $13,679,000 after acquiring an additional 39,123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in Blackrock Income Trust by 49.6% during the 4th quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 70,033 shares of the company's stock worth $773,000 after acquiring an additional 23,211 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.43% of the company's stock.

Blackrock Income Trust Company Profile

BlackRock Income Trust NYSE: BKT is a diversified, closed-end management investment company sponsored by BlackRock, Inc The fund seeks to provide current income through investments in a broad array of fixed-income securities. Its holdings typically include high-yield corporate bonds, investment-grade corporate debt, government and agency obligations and securitized products such as mortgage- and asset-backed securities.

The trust employs active portfolio management, aiming to capitalize on credit opportunities across global and domestic markets.

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