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

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund (NYSE:BTO) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,170 shares, a decrease of 76.9% from the June 30th total of 13,728 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 49,232 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.1 days. Currently, 0.0% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its stake in John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 667,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,405,000 after purchasing an additional 23,822 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its position in John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 558,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,793,000 after purchasing an additional 28,231 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 267,804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,606,000 after purchasing an additional 8,443 shares in the last quarter. FCA Corp TX boosted its stake in shares of John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. FCA Corp TX now owns 88,984 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,192,000 after buying an additional 2,064 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 86,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,043,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the period. 19.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund Price Performance

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund stock traded up $0.41 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $40.45. 28,290 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 49,116. John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund has a twelve month low of $32.01 and a twelve month high of $41.00. The company has a fifty day moving average of $38.18 and a 200-day moving average of $37.10.

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 11th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 11th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.4%.

About John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund

John Hancock Financial Opportunities Fund (NYSE: BTO) is a closed-end management investment company sponsored by John Hancock Investment Management, a division of Manulife Investment Management. Since its inception in August 2004, the fund has sought to deliver total return through a combination of current income and capital appreciation. As a publicly traded fund, it offers investors access to a diversified portfolio of financial services companies that might otherwise require direct equity investments or specialized mandates.

The fund primarily invests in common stocks, preferred stocks and convertible securities issued by companies in the banking, insurance, brokerage and specialty finance sectors.