John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund (NYSE:BTO) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund (NYSE:BTO) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 32,500 shares, a drop of 7.4% from the January 15th total of 35,100 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 48,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.7 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new position in shares of John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund in the fourth quarter worth approximately $212,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund by 97.0% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 22,052 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $787,000 after acquiring an additional 10,860 shares in the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management boosted its stake in John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 23,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $823,000 after purchasing an additional 2,743 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund by 28.2% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 71,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,558,000 after purchasing an additional 15,744 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC raised its stake in shares of John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 19,829 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $708,000 after purchasing an additional 1,614 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 19.55% of the company’s stock.

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund Stock Performance

Shares of John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund stock traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $37.49. The company had a trading volume of 46,806 shares, compared to its average volume of 48,384. John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund has a 52-week low of $26.11 and a 52-week high of $39.87. The company has a 50 day moving average of $36.38 and a 200 day moving average of $34.99.

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 12th were given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 12th.

About John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund is a closed-ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by John Hancock Investment Management LLC. It is co-managed by John Hancock Asset Management. The fund invests in the public equity markets across the globe. It seeks to invest in the stocks of companies operating across the financial services sector.