First Trust Active Factor Small Cap ETF (NYSEARCA:AFSM) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

First Trust Active Factor Small Cap ETF (NYSEARCA:AFSM) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 4,911 shares, a decline of 69.4% from the November 30th total of 16,038 shares. Currently, 0.4% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 54,353 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.1 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 54,353 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.1 days. Currently, 0.4% of the company’s shares are sold short.

First Trust Active Factor Small Cap ETF Price Performance

Shares of NYSEARCA:AFSM traded down $0.06 during trading on Friday, reaching $33.65. 12,691 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,238. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.70. First Trust Active Factor Small Cap ETF has a 12-month low of $24.42 and a 12-month high of $34.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.11 million, a PE ratio of 13.11 and a beta of 1.04.

First Trust Active Factor Small Cap ETF Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.0622 per share. This is a boost from First Trust Active Factor Small Cap ETF’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 12th. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%.

Institutional Trading of First Trust Active Factor Small Cap ETF

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AFSM. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec lifted its stake in First Trust Active Factor Small Cap ETF by 4.4% in the first quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 117,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,275,000 after acquiring an additional 4,990 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First Trust Active Factor Small Cap ETF in the 1st quarter valued at about $164,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Trust Active Factor Small Cap ETF in the 2nd quarter valued at about $60,000. Truist Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of First Trust Active Factor Small Cap ETF by 13.9% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 276,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,267,000 after purchasing an additional 33,714 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Trust Active Factor Small Cap ETF in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,102,000.

About First Trust Active Factor Small Cap ETF

The First Trust Active Factor Small Cap ETF (AFSM) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in small-cap stocks. The fund is an actively managed portfolio of US small-cap companies that exhibit exposure to one or more investing factors. AFSM was launched on Dec 3, 2019 and is managed by First Trust.