First Trust Dividend Strength ETF (NASDAQ:FTDS) Stock Short Interest Report for September

First Trust Dividend Strength ETF (NASDAQ:FTDS) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 7,305 shares, a growth of 175.3% from the September 15th total of 2,653 shares. Currently, 1.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,001 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Trust Dividend Strength ETF

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of First Trust Dividend Strength ETF by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 5,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. purchased a new position in First Trust Dividend Strength ETF during the first quarter valued at $209,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC purchased a new position in First Trust Dividend Strength ETF during the second quarter valued at $99,000.

First Trust Dividend Strength ETF Trading Up 0.7%

FTDS stock traded up $0.47 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $63.42. 1,208 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,944. First Trust Dividend Strength ETF has a 52-week low of $53.43 and a 52-week high of $67.24. The stock has a market cap of $38.05 million, a P/E ratio of 14.53 and a beta of 0.82. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $64.91 and its 200 day moving average is $62.45.

First Trust Dividend Strength ETF Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 24th were paid a dividend of $0.3094 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 24th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from First Trust Dividend Strength ETF’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.1928.

About First Trust Dividend Strength ETF

The First Trust Dividend Strength ETF (FTDS) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the The Dividend Strength index. The fund tracks an index of approximately 50 US stocks or REITs considered to be well-capitalized and have a history of increasing their dividends. Holdings are selected based on fundamental criteria and equally-weighted within the portfolio. FTDS was launched on Dec 6, 2006 and is managed by First Trust.