Short Interest in Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund Inc. (NYSE:PFO) Rises By 218.4%

Key Points

• Short interest in Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund (NYSE:PFO) surged 218.4% in March to 37,723 shares (about 0.3% of shares outstanding), with a days-to-cover ratio of 1.1.
• Several institutions initiated or increased positions — notably Clifford Swan Investment Counsel raised its stake by 96.7% to 29,500 shares — and institutional investors now own roughly 12.9% of the fund.
• The fund announced a monthly dividend of $0.0546 payable April 30 (ex-dividend April 23), implying about a 7.1% yield, and the stock recently traded at $9.27, near its 52-week range of $8.01–$9.90.

Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund Inc. (NYSE:PFO - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 37,723 shares, a growth of 218.4% from the March 15th total of 11,848 shares. Currently, 0.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 35,073 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.1 days.

Institutional Trading of Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new stake in shares of Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund in the 2nd quarter valued at about $49,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund in the 4th quarter valued at about $127,000. Guggenheim Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund in the 4th quarter valued at about $232,000. Finally, Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC raised its holdings in shares of Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund by 96.7% in the 3rd quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC now owns 29,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $288,000 after acquiring an additional 14,500 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 12.90% of the company's stock.

Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of PFO stock traded up $0.01 on Friday, hitting $9.27. 7,660 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 28,963. The firm's 50 day moving average is $9.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.50. Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund has a one year low of $8.01 and a one year high of $9.90.

Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.0546 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 23rd. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.1%.

About Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund

Flaherty & Crumrine Preferred and Income Fund NYSE: PFO is a closed-end management investment company designed to provide investors with a high level of current income. The fund focuses its portfolio primarily on preferred and participating securities, including traditional preferred shares, convertible preferred instruments, trust preferred issues and other hybrid securities issued by corporations and financial institutions.

Through broad diversification across industry sectors and geographies, PFO aims to manage credit and interest-rate risk while pursuing attractive yield opportunities.

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