Bancroft Fund Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:BCV) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Bancroft Fund Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:BCV) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 9,349 shares, an increase of 56.1% from the September 15th total of 5,990 shares. Currently, 0.2% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 9,531 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.0 days.

Bancroft Fund Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of BCV stock traded down $0.31 during trading on Friday, reaching $22.09. The company had a trading volume of 5,791 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,345. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $24.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.45. Bancroft Fund has a one year low of $21.06 and a one year high of $27.33.

Bancroft Fund Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.4%. This is a boost from Bancroft Fund’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 16th.

Institutional Trading of Bancroft Fund

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BCV. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Bancroft Fund in the second quarter valued at about $2,620,000. Beckerman Institutional LLC acquired a new stake in Bancroft Fund during the second quarter worth about $1,894,000. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC increased its stake in Bancroft Fund by 1.4% during the third quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC now owns 37,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $860,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Bancroft Fund by 2.1% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 36,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $779,000 after acquiring an additional 729 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Bancroft Fund by 114.4% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 25,913 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $558,000 after acquiring an additional 13,827 shares during the period. 22.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Bancroft Fund

Bancroft Fund, Ltd. is a diversified, closed-end management investment company listed on the NYSE American under the symbol BCV. The fund seeks to provide investors with current income and the opportunity for capital appreciation by investing primarily in convertible securities.

Its portfolio may include convertible bonds, convertible preferred stocks and other income-producing securities. Convertible investments generally provide a combination of interest or dividend income and the potential to participate in the equity appreciation of the underlying issuer.