Short Interest in PIMCO High Income Fund (NYSE:PHK) Drops By 36.1%

Key Points

• Short interest in PIMCO High Income Fund (NYSE:PHK) fell by 36.1% to 529,403 shares as of Feb. 27, leaving a short-interest ratio of about 0.9 days and roughly 0.3% of shares shorted.
• The fund declared a monthly dividend of $0.048 per share (ex-dividend March 12), which implies an annualized yield of about 12.7%.
• Several institutional investors (including LPL, Osaic, UBS, Guggenheim and Invesco) increased holdings recently, and institutions/hedge funds now own about 11.75% of the fund.

PIMCO High Income Fund (NYSE:PHK - Get Free Report) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 529,403 shares, a decrease of 36.1% from the February 12th total of 828,533 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 606,141 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.9 days. Approximately 0.3% of the company's stock are short sold. Approximately 0.3% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 606,141 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.9 days.

PIMCO High Income Fund Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PHK traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $4.54. 2,701,491 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 694,924. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $4.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.89. PIMCO High Income Fund has a 52-week low of $4.18 and a 52-week high of $5.04.

PIMCO High Income Fund Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $0.048 per share. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 12th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PIMCO High Income Fund

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PHK. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in PIMCO High Income Fund by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 1,937,118 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $9,414,000 after buying an additional 47,241 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of PIMCO High Income Fund by 32.8% in the fourth quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,661,772 shares of the investment management company's stock worth $8,076,000 after acquiring an additional 410,137 shares in the last quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC boosted its holdings in PIMCO High Income Fund by 3.6% in the second quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 1,323,627 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $6,353,000 after purchasing an additional 45,793 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its stake in PIMCO High Income Fund by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,289,048 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $6,265,000 after purchasing an additional 130,086 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in PIMCO High Income Fund by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,279,467 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $6,385,000 after purchasing an additional 53,263 shares in the last quarter. 11.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PIMCO High Income Fund Company Profile

The PIMCO High Income Fund NYSE: PHK is a closed-end management investment company that seeks to deliver high current income with a secondary focus on capital appreciation. The fund principally invests in a diversified portfolio of fixed-income securities, including corporate high-yield bonds, emerging market debt, securitized products and leveraged loans. PHK may also employ derivatives to enhance income and manage portfolio duration.

PHK's investment team pursues a benchmark-agnostic approach, allocating capital across credit sectors and global regions based on bottom-up credit analysis and macroeconomic outlooks.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.