Short Interest in First Trust Europe AlphaDEX Fund (NASDAQ:FEP) Increases By 119.3%

Key Points

• Short interest in the First Trust Europe AlphaDEX Fund increased by 119.3% in July, raising total short shares to 32,900 from 15,000.
• The fund recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.9551 per share, significantly up from the previous dividend of $0.11, giving it a 7.9% dividend yield.
• Institutional investors have been actively increasing their stakes in the fund, with entities like Atria Investments and Assetmark Inc. boosting their holdings during the second quarter.

First Trust Europe AlphaDEX Fund (NASDAQ:FEP - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 32,900 shares, agrowthof119.3% from the June 30th total of 15,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 30,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.1 days. Based on an average trading volume of 30,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.1 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Trust Europe AlphaDEX Fund

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. RFG Advisory LLC boosted its stake in First Trust Europe AlphaDEX Fund by 9.3% during the first quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 7,234 shares of the company's stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in First Trust Europe AlphaDEX Fund by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 46,462 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,897,000 after acquiring an additional 663 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc lifted its holdings in First Trust Europe AlphaDEX Fund by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 25,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,200,000 after acquiring an additional 676 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in First Trust Europe AlphaDEX Fund by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 6,193 shares of the company's stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 699 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Trust Europe AlphaDEX Fund during the first quarter valued at $33,000.

First Trust Europe AlphaDEX Fund Price Performance

First Trust Europe AlphaDEX Fund stock traded up $0.22 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $49.61. 20,716 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 34,951. The company's fifty day moving average price is $47.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.48. First Trust Europe AlphaDEX Fund has a fifty-two week low of $33.02 and a fifty-two week high of $49.75. The company has a market cap of $307.58 million, a PE ratio of -75.17 and a beta of 1.09.

First Trust Europe AlphaDEX Fund Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 26th were given a dividend of $0.9551 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 26th. This represents a $3.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.7%. This is an increase from First Trust Europe AlphaDEX Fund's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. First Trust Europe AlphaDEX Fund's dividend payout ratio is currently -246.97%.

First Trust Europe AlphaDEX Fund Company Profile

The First Trust Europe AlphaDEX Fund (FEP) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the NASDAQ AlphaDEX Europe index. The fund tracks a tiered equal-weighted index of 200 companies selected from the S&P Europe BMI based on the S&P's AlphaDex selection methodology. FEP was launched on Apr 18, 2011 and is managed by First Trust.