Short Interest in Virtus Total Return Fund Inc. (NYSE:ZTR) Rises By 76.5%

Key Points

• Short interest rose 76.5% to 104,838 shares as of March 31, equal to roughly 0.2% of shares short and a days-to-cover ratio of 0.6.
• The fund declared a monthly dividend of $0.05 payable May 28 (record date May 11), implying an annualized yield of about 8.6%.
• Institutional investors own about 47.14% of the stock, with Gridiron Partners markedly increasing its stake by 7,620.7% to 1,442,455 shares.

Virtus Total Return Fund Inc. (NYSE:ZTR - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 104,838 shares, a growth of 76.5% from the March 15th total of 59,395 shares. Approximately 0.2% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 184,181 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.6 days.

Virtus Total Return Fund Stock Down 0.1%

ZTR opened at $6.96 on Monday. Virtus Total Return Fund has a 12 month low of $5.50 and a 12 month high of $7.11. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $6.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.55.

Virtus Total Return Fund Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be paid a $0.05 dividend. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 8.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Virtus Total Return Fund

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Gridiron Partners LLC increased its stake in Virtus Total Return Fund by 7,620.7% in the 3rd quarter. Gridiron Partners LLC now owns 1,442,455 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $9,304,000 after buying an additional 1,423,772 shares during the last quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC increased its stake in Virtus Total Return Fund by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 1,246,096 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $7,850,000 after buying an additional 24,583 shares during the last quarter. North Ground Capital increased its stake in Virtus Total Return Fund by 121.5% in the 3rd quarter. North Ground Capital now owns 1,197,000 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $7,721,000 after buying an additional 656,500 shares during the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Virtus Total Return Fund by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 837,287 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $5,400,000 after buying an additional 42,393 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yakira Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Virtus Total Return Fund by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Yakira Capital Management Inc. now owns 682,714 shares of the investment management company's stock valued at $4,404,000 after buying an additional 3,530 shares during the last quarter. 47.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Virtus Total Return Fund

Virtus Total Return Fund, Inc NYSE: ZTR is a closed-end management investment company that seeks to provide investors with high total return with moderate income. The fund, which began operations in 2005, trades on the New York Stock Exchange and is sponsored by Virtus Investment Partners. ZTR offers investors access to a diversified mix of fixed-income and equity opportunities within a single vehicle.

To pursue its stated objective, the fund typically allocates across a broad range of asset classes, including corporate debt securities, high-yield bonds, convertible securities, preferred stocks, common stocks and real estate investment trusts (REITs).

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