First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund (NASDAQ:QQEW) Short Interest Down 22.6% in August

Key Points

• Short interest in the First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund (QQEW) declined by 22.6% in August, reducing the total to 48,200 shares from 62,300 as of July 31st.
• The dividend for QQEW has been cut, with the most recent quarterly payment at $0.13 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 0.4%.
• Several institutional investors have increased their stakes in QQEW, including Royal Bank of Canada, which raised its holdings by 22.9%.

First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund (NASDAQ:QQEW - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 48,200 shares, a decrease of 22.6% from the July 31st total of 62,300 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 50,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.9 days. Based on an average trading volume of 50,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.9 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Barclays PLC bought a new position in shares of First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund in the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund in the 1st quarter worth approximately $66,000. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $74,000.

First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:QQEW traded down $0.22 during trading on Friday, hitting $137.38. The stock had a trading volume of 30,289 shares, compared to its average volume of 74,849. First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund has a 12 month low of $104.28 and a 12 month high of $140.24. The company has a market capitalization of $1.90 billion, a PE ratio of 27.18 and a beta of 1.05. The firm's fifty day moving average is $136.87 and its 200 day moving average is $129.61.

First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 26th were given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 26th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%.

About First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund

The First Trust NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Fund (QQEW) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the NASDAQ-100 Equally Weighted index. The fund tracks an equal-weighted version of the NASDAQ 100. QQEW was launched on Apr 19, 2006 and is managed by First Trust.