Short Interest in Sprott Focus Trust, Inc. (NASDAQ:FUND) Increases By 30.1%

Key Points

• Short interest rose 30.1% to 9,213 shares as of April 15, equal to about 0.1% of shares outstanding and a short-interest ratio of 0.2 days based on average daily volume.
• The trust declared and paid a quarterly dividend of $0.1335 per share (annualized $0.53), implying a 5.3% dividend yield with an ex-dividend date of March 13.
• Several institutions increased positions—most notably Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake to 579,065 shares (+16.7%)—and institutional investors own about 12.63% of the stock.

Sprott Focus Trust, Inc. (NASDAQ:FUND - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 9,213 shares, a growth of 30.1% from the March 31st total of 7,080 shares. Approximately 0.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 38,415 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.2 days.

Sprott Focus Trust Stock Performance

Shares of FUND remained flat at $10.07 during trading hours on Wednesday. The stock had a trading volume of 27,051 shares, compared to its average volume of 34,041. Sprott Focus Trust has a 52 week low of $7.03 and a 52 week high of $10.20. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.11.

Sprott Focus Trust Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.1335 per share. This represents a $0.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Sprott Focus Trust by 16.7% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 579,065 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,291,000 after acquiring an additional 82,892 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Sprott Focus Trust by 20.5% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 13,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 2,300 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sprott Focus Trust by 203.4% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 50,438 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $377,000 after acquiring an additional 33,815 shares during the period. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Sprott Focus Trust by 19.9% during the third quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 174,865 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,453,000 after acquiring an additional 28,969 shares during the period. Finally, Shaker Financial Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Sprott Focus Trust by 3.2% during the third quarter. Shaker Financial Services LLC now owns 474,364 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,942,000 after acquiring an additional 14,663 shares during the period. 12.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Sprott Focus Trust

Sprott Focus Trust, Inc is a closed‐end management investment company trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker FUND. Externally managed by Sprott Asset Management LP, the trust offers investors targeted exposure to publicly traded companies that generate revenue through precious metals royalty and streaming agreements. By focusing on this segment, the trust provides a specialized approach to gaining potential income and capital appreciation tied to gold, silver and other base metal production.

The investment strategy centers on assembling a diversified portfolio of royalty and streaming firms with long‐life assets, stable cash flow profiles and strong growth outlooks.

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