Abrdn Japan Equity Fund Inc (NYSE:JEQ) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Abrdn Japan Equity Fund Inc (NYSE:JEQ) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 45,300 shares, an increase of 27.2% from the February 13th total of 35,600 shares. Approximately 0.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 45,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.0 days.

Abrdn Japan Equity Fund Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JEQ traded up $0.00 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $6.64. 95,882 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 49,557. The company’s 50 day moving average is $5.87 and its 200 day moving average is $5.92. Abrdn Japan Equity Fund has a one year low of $5.27 and a one year high of $6.69.

Abrdn Japan Equity Fund Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abrdn Japan Equity Fund

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in JEQ. Wolverine Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abrdn Japan Equity Fund by 77.9% during the 4th quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 165,606 shares of the company’s stock worth $952,000 after acquiring an additional 72,496 shares during the period. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. lifted its holdings in shares of Abrdn Japan Equity Fund by 84.5% during the 3rd quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 98,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $613,000 after acquiring an additional 44,964 shares during the period. Matisse Capital lifted its holdings in shares of Abrdn Japan Equity Fund by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Matisse Capital now owns 201,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,157,000 after acquiring an additional 29,263 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Abrdn Japan Equity Fund during the 3rd quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, CSS LLC IL acquired a new stake in Abrdn Japan Equity Fund in the 4th quarter valued at about $60,000. 62.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Abrdn Japan Equity Fund

Abrdn Japan Equity Fund Inc is a close ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by Aberdeen Standard Investments (Asia) Limited. It invests in the public equity markets of Japan. The fund invests in stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors. It employs quantitative analysis to build its portfolio.