Short Interest in DWS Municipal Income Trust (NYSE:KTF) Rises By 119.6%

Key Points

• Short interest rose 119.6% in March to 156,360 shares as of March 31, though shorts still represent only about 0.4% of the shares with a days-to-cover of 0.7.
• The trust paid a monthly dividend of $0.061 (record/ex‑dividend March 20) which implies an annualized dividend yield of about 8.0%.
• Institutional investors own 57.71% of KTF, with managers such as Sit Investment, LPL Financial, VanEck, Gridiron and Focus Partners recently adding to or initiating positions.

DWS Municipal Income Trust (NYSE:KTF - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 156,360 shares, an increase of 119.6% from the March 15th total of 71,202 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 213,964 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.7 days. Approximately 0.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

DWS Municipal Income Trust Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of KTF traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $9.16. 156,075 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 183,824. DWS Municipal Income Trust has a 1-year low of $8.48 and a 1-year high of $9.37. The company has a 50 day moving average of $9.12 and a 200-day moving average of $9.14.

DWS Municipal Income Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 20th were paid a $0.061 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 20th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.0%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On DWS Municipal Income Trust

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KTF. Sit Investment Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of DWS Municipal Income Trust by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. now owns 9,883,177 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $89,838,000 after acquiring an additional 51,032 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of DWS Municipal Income Trust by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 553,077 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $5,027,000 after acquiring an additional 58,031 shares during the last quarter. Gridiron Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of DWS Municipal Income Trust by 3,970.6% during the 3rd quarter. Gridiron Partners LLC now owns 425,178 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 414,733 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new position in shares of DWS Municipal Income Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,973,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of DWS Municipal Income Trust by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 229,185 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $2,083,000 after acquiring an additional 29,752 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.71% of the company's stock.

DWS Municipal Income Trust Company Profile

DWS Municipal Income Trust NYSE: KTF is a closed-end management investment company that seeks to provide shareholders with a high level of current income exempt from regular federal income tax. Established in 2002, the fund is managed by DWS Group, a global asset management firm and affiliate of Deutsche Bank, and trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol KTF. Its structure allows investors access to a diversified portfolio of municipal securities with the potential for tax-advantaged income distributions.

The trust’s investment strategy focuses primarily on investment-grade municipal bonds issued by U.S.

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